


Live Die Repeat

by FallenAkito



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Edge of Tomorrow Fusion, Angst, Ardyn basically just went insane, Character Death, Daemons, Experiments, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I'm going to my trash can, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Prom the Chosen, Rating for later chapters, Slow Burn, Suicide, but not really, don't hurt me pls, just saying, like you know what this movie is about, maybe mild gore, more tags to come, welcome to Prom and Noct seeing each other die a 100 times
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-03-22 13:30:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13765179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenAkito/pseuds/FallenAkito
Summary: Prompto really didn't ask for this.. he didn't ask to be a super hero or a chosen one to save the world. Yet here he is and he is the only one who can do it.More tags for the explicit will follow.Edge of Tomorrow / Live Die Repeat AU.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really suck at multi-chaptered fics because I never have the stamina to actually do it. But duh here I am again with another attempt because I'm so hooked on this idea I can't do anything against it. Orz. 
> 
> Anyway many thanks to Kindly who talked me into actually trying it and starting this monster. I'm not updating regulary to be honest. It just comes with the flow you better get used to it. 
> 
> Also my writing isn't that good but still. I hope you like it and welcome to this rollercoaster of emotions. Pls take your seat and enjoy.

 

* * *

 

 _08:29 a.m._  
  
The clock was screaming at him aggressively with it's loud beeping sound. Demanding him to get his eyes open and move his slender body out of the warm and comfy sheets. A groan escaped soft lips when a blonde, messy head finally peeked from under the blanket. With clumsy movements his hand was searching for the button to end this torture to his ears in ungodly hours.

He found it. Silence wrapping around him and his little room again.

The young man almost slipped into a half asleep state of mind again but he forced his eyes to open, running one hand over his freckle dotted face and through his hair.

A normal day for a normal commoner of the Crown City. Insomnia. Like it always was. Not that he expected anything really thrilling in his life, which had been pretty staying the same for the last years. And the boy was satisfied with his routine. Grounded. Steady and not with many surprises. He had never been a man of surprises anyway.

Prompto Argentum was living his usual life. For what should he even wish more, right? Okay, maybe he wished for a girl- or boyfriend or at least a date but hey, you couldn't have anything you want.

After some time he finally got out of his bed, abandoning it and forcing himself into the bathroom. Trying to overcome this feeling of unbearable lazyness. He put on some fresh clothes and got onto a morning run, just a distance of around the block. It always made his head finally shake away the last doziness and got his blood rushing through his limbs before getting home again. He hasn't been always this slender and before he got under the shower he could see those barely visible stretch marks on his skin in the mirror. Remnants of the time when he was a lonely kid. A loner. Giving in to his loneliness by eating on and on. Until he someday noticed that being fat wasn't good for his health and it wasn't helping for the solitude in his heart either. In high school he met a young lady named Lunafreya who he befriended with. She was helping him a lot with his poblems in confidence and self-esteem. And finally Prompto decided to do something about it. He couldn't stay still on this point or he would propably die someday from it.

And he changed.

The results on display were actually more overwhelming when you knew how he had been looking years ago. Now he was almost another person to be honest. Even if he was feeling as lazy as hell he somehow managed to get on with his morning procedure. By the time he stopped the water from rinsing his body, Prompto was more or less awake and ready for breakfast.

After college Prompto started to work as a professional photographer and somehow got even proclaimed as good enough for an own studio. His former friend Luna was working with him there but she mostly just managed the appointements for him. Still... it didn't threw off enough money that he could effort a bigger appartement so he was living in this single-flat all by himself. Luna even offered him to move in with him into something bigger, splitting the rent but the blonde refused to do so. He was used to get his stuff done alone because he didn't want to be a burden to anyone. And not even to the blonde girl who had taken enough care of him over the years already. He owed her so much, Prompto wasn't even sure how he would be able to pay all this back to her.

"Good Morning, Prompto. You're here pretty early." She chuckled slightly and smiled at him. 

"Says the one who is always here before me. Mornin' Luna!" Said woman just shrugged it off and handed him a couple of letters.

Prompto really asked himself how she was even able to get up earlier than he did and then look like the embodiment of an angel without even a flaw. Her light blonde long hair was tied back in a ponytail. Not even a single strand came loose. The photographer wondered if she was wearing make-up because she looked like her beauty would be all natural. If he wouldn't have taken a dozens of portraits of her already, he would have done now.

Nothing particular seemed to be under the letters... except a black envelope.

"Huh.. what's this?" He asked, turning it around in his hand, but there wasn't a sender to be seen.

"Hrm? Oh that. Well..." Prompto slightly frowned by the way she stood up from her seat. "... I know it's the anniversary of your work here soon. So I got you something." Okay? Now he was pretty curious what it could be and excitement started to make his fingertips all tingling.

The seal broke with a little cracking sound and somehow he thought he had seen it somewhere else already. But he couldn't quite remember where it had been. He opened the paper, blue-violette orbs flying over the first few words and growing larger with each second. Doubting this was reality and Luna all serious. His gaze jumped up to her, dropped down again on the paper in his trembling fingers and then up to her again. But she just smiled even wider. That envelope was an invitation to be the photographer in charge for the upcoming diplomatic meetings in the citadel. There was only limited access for press and media to be there - of various reasons of course - but with this... he would be one of those. Oh dear Six, he needed to sit down, he thought to himself and blindly fumbled for a nearby chair to sit on. 

"Luna.. that's... how did you-" What were sentences? What is speaking? His assistant just stepped around her desk and came closer, placing a slender hand on his shoulder. 

"Prompto, you work harder than any other person I know. But sometimes even those people don't get the esteem they deserve. And you are definitely one of those people. That is why I gifted this to you." 

Said blonde chocobo fanatic was speechless, like he already had to thank her for all she did for him and then she just handed him the biggest chance in his lifetime.

"But how did you..." He started but was silenced by Luna shaking her head. Only to tell him that she had her connections within the royal family and that she had spoken the highest words of him. Suddenly Prompto felt like he should do everything to not disappoint anyone. If he would fuck anything up he could also just close his business and throw himself off the next skyscraper.

He looked at the date again. Two days from now on. He should better get ready and check his stuff for the next 48 hours to make sure everything would be perfect for that meeting. When finally conditions of ceasefires between countries would be set.

A historical day.

 

* * *

 

_Two days later all shit went right down to hell._

Prompto cracks an eye open although it feels like the hardest thing to do in all of his life. His head is heavy, the pain almost unbearable. He swears he can feel warm liquid running down his temple and he doesn't want to know how hard he hit his head that his cheek feels _this_ wet.

Coughing up he rolls to his side, the blonde struggles to breathe normally again. His respiratory system completely tries to defy him and it hurts. It feels like his lungs were full of dust and dirt. It took him a while until he finally could catch his breath. Somewhere far away he can here the dull uproar of explosions, sending tremors through the ground he's lying on.

How could this happen to him?

He just wanted to have a simple, steady life. And what was it now?

With a groan Prompto sits up slowly and eventually gets on his feet. He's still in the conference room but he doesn't dare to take a closer look... because he can _smell_ the copper like scent. Can _taste_ it almost on his tongue. Making him feel nauseous and turning his stomach around. He doesn't want to look at the bodies, doesn't want to see the horror in front of him. Biting his own lip he walks out of the hall, through shattered stone and broken pieces of black marble and gold ornaments.

The citadel is almost empty, despite the fact that the corridors are paved with flesh and blood. Another tremor shakes through the earth, makes him almost fall flat into another pool of red and Prompto almost threw up because of it. But he tried his best to stay on track, setting one foot for another. The throbbing pain in his head got even stronger.

He had to get out of here.

When he leaves the palace and limps down the stairs to the main gate, it felt like an eternity. His eyes could already see smoke and fire, painting the streets of Insomnia in a picture of red light in the darkest nights without a single star. Somehow his ears accustomed to his surroundings again, a loud roaring sound made it's way to him. Blue eyes search for the cause and found it. But he couldn't quite make out what _it_ was. It seemed like a moving mountain... no... not a mountain. Something different.

Something... _deadly_.

It opens it's - what he would call it - mouth, letting out a deep hollering noise which thrummed through his head and Prompto stumbles. Almost falling into the dusty road beneath him while his terrified gaze rests on the monster. He would run from it if he could, but it was only a few hundred meters away. It would catch up to him in less than no time.

But he didn't even make it to run.

As the thing slowly bend down, baring his spine. Dots all over it's surface before the sound of firing reach his ears, thousands of lights flying into the air like oversized fireflies. Rushing into the night sky like fake shooting stars. If it wouldn't be for the city standing on fire and ruins and for the dull screaming in the background like a morbid sense of music taste, Prompto might have find this somehow faszinating. But reality dawns up on him as soon as the first crashing rock lands in a building next to him. The massive structure just crippling together like a house of cards blown away by a little breeze.

The photographer winces, tripping over when the ground shakes again and he hears it.

The buzzing sound of a star making it's way to him. He can feel the moving in the air, the heat of fire as it comes near. His eyes blinded by light Prompto lifts an arm to shield his view and in an attempt to brace himself for the impact as the sound gets too loud, he can barely hear anything else over it.

He always asked himself what it would be. How it would feel to actually... die.

Does it hurt? Can you feel how your body just stops working? Would you feel pain if you just get smashed?

His questions never got answers though.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it for the prologue. 
> 
> At first I was really thinking about writing even more to the actual event. On the other hand you will see why I finally decided against it. Yet again many thanks to the FFXV Writers Discord. Finally I have motivation again to write. Wohoo! 
> 
> Let's see how long it will take until I need ass kicking to finish this stuff. Although I have the feeling not many people will read this. XD (maybe that's not bad if you look at the trash). Haha. 
> 
> Inspiration Songs:  
> FF XIV ARR OST - Answers (again woops)
> 
> See you soon!


	2. This has to be a Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! 
> 
> It's been awhile and here it is more or less, the first one (or well lets say the version of it, because there will be surely an update later //D). 
> 
> I'll try to keep myself on track and try to get work done for this at least once in a month. But I can't promise anything lol. Still I know I should really try to update this in a regular time because if I don't I will lose interest in it fast or the motivation for it. And I'm really not in the mood to let this thing rott in a corner, so ew. 
> 
> The real journey is just about to start. So hope you guys like it.

 

  
Jolting upwards the blond woke up from his slumber, body covered in cold sweat, chest heaving heavily. It took him some time to finally get accustomed to his surroundings again. His fingers gripped the sheets so tightly his knuckles started to grow white. With trembling, ragged breaths, Prompto began to calm down after he realized that he was sitting in his bed within his little, single bedroom apartment. He was fine. Everything was fine. Finally, his blue eyes looked over to the clock on his nightstand.

_8:29 a.m._

The alarm was yelling loudly at him to get up for the day.

Running a hand through his messy, blonde hair he took a long deep breath and his mind settled down at long last. Wow. That had been one hell of a nightmare to be honest. Not that he wasn’t used to having bad dreams at times but still.

This one… had felt so real. As if it had really happened and wasn't just something imagined of his fucked up mind. Prompto felt like he could still smell the smoke in the air, he scent of burned buildings and… flesh. He grimaced by the sheer thought of it and shook his head, trying to get rid of the pictures filling his brain again as they had been seconds ago. No. It was only a nightmare and nothing more. Nothing he should keep thinking about.

With an annoyed groan he reached for the clock, turned it off and yawned, stretching his arms above his head to get the blood rushing through his limbs again. The only thing that was slightly bothering him was that he didn’t really feel tired. The usual drowsiness was completely missing, but the photographer took it as he somewhat still got a good portion of sleep, so he felt rested enough to not be tired this morning. Simple as that for the blond.

If everything would just be so simple.

At least his morning routine wasn’t holding any other surprises for him. He did his normal run around the building complex, doing some exercises on the way and headed back to his flat. He took a quick shower then settled down in the kitchen with a bit of breakfast, his phone in hand as he listened halfway to the radio news, his attention elsewhere.

Prompto really liked video games. Had always finding some liking in them back when he was still a kid and had no friends, but also when he had some time to spare. Most of the time he was playing King’s Knight, a pretty popular game these days. Prompto only looked up from it when the newscaster said something about the upcoming events for the ceasefire between Niflheim and Lucis.

 _Oh right.. they are talking about this meeting non-stop the last days_ , he thought and noted down to himself this must be the reason why his nightmare picked up this topic. It made sense more or less. Something else crossed his mind again. Right, Luna had given him the invitation for the press at the meeting. And suddenly Prompto felt so incredibly stupid he chuckled to himself, shaking his head.

Of course it had to be a dream. Gods, why didn’t he think of this before? As if Luna would hand him an invitation from the royal council itself to invite him to be the photographer for it. Yeah, surely not gonna happen. How could this damn man, still more a loser than a real man, be so foolish to believe in such a thing. A snort escaped his throat and he focused on his game and meal again. He had to get ready for work soon enough.

 

* * *

 

The airflow around him was tugging at his clothes when Prompto made his way through the streets of Insomnia. Taking another turn at the road on his motorcycle before stopping at the next red light. The traffic in the Crown City could really be annoying at some point, if you’re travelling by car or public transports. Prompto hated the public ones sometimes.. he had used him a lot in his high school years and while being in college. As soon as he got enough money with his work, he was finally able to get his license. Proud of calling this baby on two wheels his own - with maybe some help of Luna around his birthday - he could now refrain from the annoying stuff.

He loved the way he could feel the wind waving around him, the adrenaline rushing through his mind and body when he put on more speed. Of course, he wouldn’t be reckless and not pay attention to anything around him, but still it was a wonderful feeling. Being free like flying without any boundaries to keep him down.

If he had the chance and time to leave Insomnia for a while one day, he would definitely like to go on a trip. Only with his camera and his bike, taking him anywhere he wanted. Someday he would definitely do this. After all he didn’t have the chance to visit the Chocobo farm until now. Although he loved the birds to no end.

The droning sound of the engine came to an end as soon as Prompto arrived at the backyard of his workplace. He removed his helmet and put it away, snatching his backpack and heading off to his studio.

As expected the blonde girl already sat behind her computer, typing e-mails and noting down appointments. Checking the letters on a first look until she would hand them over like she always did. Where did she take all this energy in the morning?

“Good Morning, Prompto. You’re early today.” She chuckled to herself and blessed him with a warm smile, gracing her delicate features. Luna looked beautiful as always, even at such a time of the day. Sometimes he felt slightly intimidated by her, even more because his own hair was always a bit messy. Although he put all this effort in styling it in the morning, he really needed awhile to get it pretty decent.

“Morning Luna. If I am early then I wonder if you're ever going home or if you’re sleeping under your desk.” Prompto put his bag aside and reached for the letters, sitting down on one of the chairs next to her. As he had thought there was nothing special. A couple of bills, newsletters and one or two requests of being the photographer at a wedding.

 _Yeah… as if there would be something like -_ , he froze in his tracks. The last thing in his hands was a black envelope, crested with gold exquisite lines and a seal. Something felt extremely surreal. He licked his lips in confusion and nervousness, feeling like they had gone dry all of a sudden.

“Uh… L-Luna… what is this?” Prompto was almost too scared to ask, somehow he already assumed to know _what_ it actually was.

“Hrm? Oh that. Well… I know it's the anniversary of you working here soon. So I got you something." Prompto hesitated. “Prompto? Come on, open it!” Luna tried to encourage him to open the piece of paper and with a sigh he did. His fingers trembling as he opened the insignia. As he had expected it was an invitation from the royal council for being the photographer at the meeting in two days. He frowned. His assistant might have noticed that too, because she stepped closer giving him a concerned look. “Are you alright?”

Prompto blinked a few times until his train of thoughts stopped and he nodded. This has to be some strange coincidence. Of course it was. Or maybe the Six had seen into his dream and actually wanted to grant him this wish. So he smiled at her with all honesty.

“Uh sure! Luna… this is amazing! How can I make this up to you??” The spark of happiness and excitement slowly crept back into the violet-blue orbs and Luna seemed to be relieved by it. She probably had been worried that he didn’t like her gift.

"Prompto, you work harder than any other person I know. But sometimes even those people don't get the esteem they deserve. And you are definitely one of those people. That is why I gifted this to you."

“Thank you… I really appreciate it. Without you and your support I wouldn’t be here. How did you get your hands on this anyway?” Folding the letter he put it into his pocket, a little bit of color appeared on his cheeks. Tinting them in a light shade of peach, causing his freckles to stand out more.

“Well, let’s say I have some connections to the royal family.”

“Really? Man, you’re a gift from the Six up there. Have to take this seriously! I won’t disappoint you or your…. err … connections.”

Luna started laughing and Prompto joined in shortly after, rubbing the back of his head in slight embarrassment. Maybe it was really a wish he just got granted. His one and only time to be lucky at all. Because usually luck was not something existing in his vocabulary. He had never been lucky in anything to be honest. But he would do anything to not make a disgrace out of himself.

 

* * *

 

 The next two days passed almost too fast for Prompto's taste. Now he was standing in front of the main gates, terrified as hell. The nightmare had been long gone from his mind. He was too occupied with the whole thing of being the photographer for such an important event and definitely too scared to fuck things up. Out of various reasons to be honest…

Because he was an expert in fucking things up. Sometimes. More or less.

But not today! The exaggerating fire of determination was rushing through his veins as Prompto took another deep breath and walked through the metal gates. Staring at the imposing architecture, towering over him and the rest of the city. He was all in awe. Just to stand here at this alley, leading to the citadel and ending in that little square right at the bottom of the wide staircase; it was all what he could have wished for when it comes to composing photos. Dreamed of. The slender fingers twitched slightly, holding onto his equipement. Gods, he really was tempted to take a few shots of the structure. On the other hand he could feel the canvassing looks in his back like one of the guards tried to stare him down or something.

Better not trying to evoke any suspicions... he didn't want to get chopped down or something, ugh.

Nervousness spread through his body and through his soul the closer he got to the stairs.

 _Alright, Prompto. Now it’s your time to show them that you’re good enough! Don’t disappoint Luna!_ , this in mind he walked up the stairs and entered the main hall.

Even at the entrance were so many people from media and staff he felt quite inferior to all of them. Still having a few eyes resting on him in an interested way as the blond sneaked through the people in the direction of the conference rooms. Mumbling an apology here and there whenever he shuffled past another a bunch of people. 

The room for the ceremony was smaller in contrary to the hall at the entrance. More in the shape of a circle, a heavy wooden desk placed at the end of the aisle with two chairs standing behind it. Black marbled walls, reaching up to a tribune until white stone, several metres high gave more an impression of this being a church than anything else. Lit up by dozens of little lamps hanging from the embellished ceiling except one single, black and crystalline chandelier above the table. At the front side of the room, right behind the chairs in which he guessed both leaders would sit soon, he could see another glass window and the most important light source for the otherwise more dark themed room. Statues on pillars seemed to watch over the passage leading to the center of the room. All in all the whole structures felt somehow oppressive to Prompto. Feeling more like a stupid commoner than ever before.

The conference hall was starting to get crowded, more and more people were filling the room and looking for their seats alongside the middle path. Prompto retreated back next to the entrance of the arches, nervously fiddling with his camera in hands. His eyes rested on the guards every now and then. Although they didn't seem to take much note of him anyway. He was still insecure if it would be okay to snap some pictures before the meeting even had started. Well there should be nothing wrong with it at all, right? Because.. this was the reason why he got called out here. 

A constant humming sound was echoing from the walls caused by murmuring voices of too many people in a quite small room. Swallowing the noise his camera made whenever he took another snapshot. In fact Prompto was able to sense the tension in the air between the envoys of Niflheim and the politicians of Lucis. Both leaders of the countries were still missing.

Taking his time Prompto walked around for a bit, raising the lense in front of his eyes when he found another good angle for a shot. Halfway kneeling at the end of the aisle, he took one of the desk before checking the display if it was good enough. Six, he had never expected it to be this impressive. Everything of the citadel was. Even this small chamber, barely room enough for at least thirty people. What would he give to get a few pictures of the throne room.

Completely preoccupied by rapture he didn't notice the pair of blue eyes resting on him. His mind only picking up on it when he looked up finally; their gazes meeting for a short second. Bright blue piercing right through the depths of his soul until the raven-haired looked away again.

Of course Prompto knew who _he_ was...

Would have been a shame if that man wasn't a name to him.

Especially if it was the prince of Lucis and the heir to the future throne. Noctis had been on the media's pretty often lately; because of his 20th birthday. And the blond had to admit he looked more stunning in flesh and blood. Noctis looked tired though, not completely disinterested, but definitely not happy about having to sit here for the next hours and listen to the talking of those politicians either. Prompto wondered why the prince had to stay here in the first place.

Prompto’s sight lingered on him for a little longer, taking in every detail he could get a grasp on. Dark grey-blueish hair framed his features, giving a good contrast to his fair skin. As flawless as the one of his best friend and assistant if he dared to say that.

If he said he took dozens of portrait pictures of Luna then he wouldn't want to count how many shots he would've taken of that man by the end of the day.

Prompto was still staring and blinked only when the whispering voices died away, all eyes resting on the entrance of the hall when the emperor entered the room. As a photographer the young man had picked up a very good eye for any sorts of mimic, gestures and surroundings. Mostly for the composition of his work, a good eye for this was somewhat essential. So if Prompto would have been allowed to utter his two cents on it, Aldercapt looked pretty much relaxed. A little bit too relaxed for his own taste to be honest. Maybe he was as relieved as the king of Lucis that the war would finally be put to an end.

But something seemed off... as if he was certain of something only he could know.

On the other hand... maybe he was just imagining things. His job was taking the photos here, not doubting in anything this meeting would have as it's intention. He raised his camera to his eyes once more after finding another angle which allowed him to get a good view of the table, with the emperor standing behind it. Through the lens he noticed Aldercapt's gaze flickering over to him and a chill ran down his spine.

The clicking sound of the snapshot resounding so loudly in his head, he thought somebody would definitely kick him out of the room for the disturbance. In the end nobody was bothered by it. Still, Prompto took it as a sign to retreat once more next to the entrance, trying to be as unremarkable as possible.

Another pair of steps followed shortly after and finally the king himself appeared in the hallway, heading down the aisle until he was standing next to the emperor. Whispered words were exchanged through them, even without looking at each other there was still something in the air. The mistrust against each other, heavily impending over them. Prompto couldn’t make out what they talked about, but his attention was somewhere else anyway.

Clutching to his camera he watched another men coming closer, sheets of paper in hand. Spreading them across the heavy wooden table. Prompto didn't notice he was holding his breath until both leaders stepped closer and he let it out with a silent puff. Why was he so tensed up suddenly?

Like every nerve and cell in his body was on alarm. There was nothing to worry about right?

 _Right?_ _  
_

As if someone had been waiting all along for him to ask this, the earth started to shaken. Startling him on his feet so he had to brace himself at the next wall. Eyes widened and looking at the scene in front of him like a deer in headlights. __Oh no…_  
_

A few people had jumped from their seats and in a blink of an eye weapons were brandished between both parties. It went so fast the blond was barely able to really process what was going on around him, even more when he was trying not to lose his balance gracefully at the next earthquake. Too shocked to move, his legs didn't listen to him at all and the last thing he remembered was a sudden pain at the back of his head as something hit him hard. Engulfing the world around him in pitch black darkness. __  
_ _

When he came back to his senses the first thing he noticed was the constant clamour reaching his ears, all muffled like he had put some foam plugs in it. His head felt heavy and aching as he tried to open his eyes at last. First he wasn't sure where he was until the memory slowly crept back to him. Right... the conference… a fight broke out between the people. As far as he could evaluate he was still there, lying on the dusty ground, the light was gone. The room almost dark. Coughing he rolled onto his side and finally on his hands and knees. His lungs were in pain, his throat burning from all the dust he had been breathing in the whole time. In an instinct his hand reached for his cheek which felt oddly wet. A look on his hand confirmed his guessings that there was an unsettling amount of fresh blood on it.

 _Come on, Prompto... you have to get outta here..._ , trying to calm his nerves he slowly rose to his feet, almost falling down again and meeting the cold dirty black marble when his knees refused to hold him up. His shoulder stinging like hell. The fact that he wasn’t able to move it either, proved it that it was most likely dislocated.

Everything in his mind screamed at him to not take a closer look at his surroundings, but the heavy scent of blood and flesh was hardly to be ignored. Even more he didn’t want to trip on something, so he was somewhat forced to look around and catch quite a few glances at the dead bodies around him. One of them pierced at the wall above them with his own sword. What the fuck… had happened here…

Nausea creeping up on him he shook his head and started to walk, slightly limping his way through the corridors until he reached the main hall. It felt like an eternity. And all too familiar to him too. Beautiful white pillars and busts crumbled into rubble. Stained-glass windows shattered into millions of little shards. The former imposing building turned into ruins. He pushed the heavy doors open, loose hinges quietly creaking to the motion only to give him a painting of the gates of hell itself.

Streets and buildings, once the proud of the Crown City, now standing in flames and smoke. If he wouldn’t knew it better he’d thought someone had put Ifrit on the loose.

Taking all of his willpower he started to head down the staircase, almost falling over when another tremor shook the ground beneath his feet. A loud, roaring sound approaching him. Prompto didn’t need another validation of what this thing was. He knew it.

_He had seen it already._

What he thought what had been a nightmare was now more real than he would have wished for. The monster with it’s wide baring japs. Stomping down anything which came in the way, making its way through the city. Crashing structures and turning streets into a landscape of devastation.

Prompto made his way along the avenue to the citadel and eventually reached the gates to the city. He had to find a place where he could hide. But before he could think of a place where to run, a bunch of footsteps came running up to him. Metallic sounds of riffles getting buckled and again he was standing frozen and unmoving, knowing he would be shot down in a few seconds. He closed his eyes, waiting for the fire to go off but nothing happened. Instead there was a strange shifting in the area around him and when the violet-blue orbs opened again he could swear he had seen light blue light. Faint like a veil that dissolved immediately again.

“Hey! Stop staring like a dumb sheep and move!” A voice yelled and Prompto had to blink a few times before he could finally see him. Dark grey-blue hair, in the shades of fire and darkness more colored in black, and bright blue eyes watching him intently after beating another soldier. _The prince._ They had started crossfiring but Noctis was too fast for them to catch. The fight was over before it even began. “Come!” Noctis walked over to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him over the streets into the entrance of another building.

“I thought there weren’t any survivors left in the citadel.” He knelt in front of him and checked the laceration on his temple. Prompto still wasn’t really reacting to him, because he looked at him wide eyed like he’d never had seen the prince before. Noctis flicked his fingers in front of his eyes and the blond almost jumped.

“W-Wait! Y-You.. I mean, your Highness!” Prompto tried to stand up but got dragged down by Noctis again.

“Stay here. You’re injured.”

“N-No! You don’t understand! We’re not safe here! We… we need to run or we’re going to die! I saw it!” Everything was rolling off of him like water running down a cleft, searching its way down with gravity. Noctis frowned slightly by those words.

“What do you mean… you _saw_ it?”

Prompto bit his lip. Unsure if he should say it like it was completely normal, although he felt like he was going insane.

“I… I was here already… I watched all of this happening…” For a second he thought that the prince would tell him he shouldn’t say such stupid things but silence spread between them. Carefully he watched Noctis' expression and tried to figure out what he was thinking. Noctis seemed to have his problems processing it before something dawned on him, bright blue eyes widening as he grabbed the slender shoulders rather forcefully.

“You mean, this has already happened to you?” Somewhere in the distance Prompto could hear firing, hundreds of fireballs into the air. Like he remembered it from his dream. “Listen! When you wake up, come to the citadel! Tell them you need to talk to me. Do you understand, Prompto?”

“W-What do you mean… when I wake u-”

Another salve of fireballs got fired into the air, buzzing in the night sky and getting closer.

“Don’t ask! Just do as I say.”

When the roaring sound of the first fireball came closer Prompto felt himself nodding, his hand unconsciously clinging to one of Noctis’ arms. Hoping it would give him some kind of stability when something crashed into the structure right above them. Wrapping him in endless darkness once again.

 

* * *

 

Prompto shrieked and set up so abruptly his head hurt from the blood rushing downwards and away from his brain. Breathing in short ragged motions, his fingers gripped the sheets tightly. Knuckles already white and his palms sweaty. His heart was racing so fast in his chest he actually feared it would break out of his ribcage at any second. Even his mind had problems coming down from sudden outburst of adrenaline in his veins.

When he finally registered where he was, the blond looked down onto his hands. Only to throw away the blanket as if he had burned himself with it and scooting right to the headboard, panicking the fabric could attack him at any second.

He was back home…

… and scared to look at the clock.

His whole body was trembling when he slowly moved his gaze over to the little display on his nightstand, the clock going off with the alarm. Red vibrant numbers.

08:29 a.m.

 _Dear Six, this can’t be happening. That’s it.. I’m going crazy. I’m definitely going crazy!_ , he thought as he brought his hands to his head, shielding his ears in hope the threatening sound would disappear.

What the fuck was happening to him...

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it. As I said this will get an update sooner or later (for mistakes and so on). Also don't worry ;) the next chapters are not going to loop with the time window we're having. Just stay tuned <3
> 
> Inspirational Song:  
> FF XIV OST - Answers  
> Ed Sheeran - I See Fire  
> FF XV OST - Ravus Aeterna 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr and twitter under @cinnamondazai


	3. I'm no Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm right in time, like wow, I didn't expect I would be able to keep this up and also I'm still motivated for this story. I guess not a lot of people are reading it anyways but thanks for the ones, who do xD. 
> 
> Usually this chapter would have been so much longer, oof. But I cut out the following part and will move it into the next chapter, because this Thing would have been too long tbh. 
> 
> Prompto is now slowly getting accustomed to what's happening and hey, he is trying his best okay?
> 
> Find me on tumblr and twitter @cinnamondazai

 

Prompto was walking up and down in his room, hands fisted into his messy blonde hair, still unruly from just getting out of bed. His mind circled around the images in his head, still as clear as it just had happened before while he paced from one side to another.

_Calm down, Prompto. Everything's good,_ he tried to chant inside of his head and pulled harder on his hair. _You're not going crazy. Everything's fine. Keep calm and breathe._

The mantra he tried to follow had only little success until his racing heart began to settle down, yet still pounding heavily inside of his ribcage. At least he was able to sit down at the edge of his bed, the mattress slightly sinking by the new weight. Violet-blue eyes still looked rather mortified. It's been two hours now and he was running late for work, but he couldn't care less.

After getting out of the bed - or more like stumbling out of it - he had grabbed his phone and checked the news. _Two days until the ceasefire contract._ Prompto freaked out and had gotten himself into a state of a serious panic attack. This was the second time this was happening now. It couldn't be a dream at all. Right?

_Right?_

The blond ran a hand through his hair and sighed in resignation. Whatever has happened in the last hours or days, it wasn't a dream at all. He wasn't dreaming the same thing over and over again… so there was only one way to find out. His gaze lingered on the display of his phone. It showed the latest tabloid news about the Crown Prince and his twentieth birthday.

_“When you wake up, come to the citadel and tell them you need to talk to me.”_

These words resounded clearly in his head, Prompto could still remember the bright blue eyes and the serious face they belonged to. But what did the Prince of Lucis meant with that? Going to the citadel and talking to him? How should he even do that? It wasn't like he could just walk up there and demand talking to the prince as if he was his best friend. Prompto rubbed his face with both hands, intertwining his fingers under his chin as he tried to think of what to do.

Maybe the first thing he should do was to going to work. Luna would be worried if he wasn't showing up at all.

 

* * *

 

Awhile later Prompto turned the engine from his bike off and set his helmet aside. His knees felt wobbly and his hands were still shaking. He somehow made it to his workplace in one piece. Barely hanging on to be honest since he almost caused two accidents, when he had missed the red lights. One time he almost got hit by a truck and fuck he'd been done for if it weren't for his good reflexes. Still.. If he would die there, he would come back either way right? Gods.. this was really screwing with his mind.

Trying to hide how shaken Prompto actually was, he walked into the studio. Luna already sat at her computer, looking up from her work as soon as the blond entered.

“Good Morning, Prompto.” she said with a warm smile on her lips, her gaze wandering up to the clock on the wall, “... you're late today? Did you get stuck in traffic?”

Prompto winced and tried to hide his jerk by scoffing. “Ugh.. yeah something like that. Sorry, Luna.” Rubbing the back of his head he stepped closer, his violet-eyes already fixed on the desk and the letters lying there like they would be some kind of curse. He was too terrified to pick them up at all as his trembling fingers reached for them. Knowing what he’d probably find under them.

The noise of a chair getting pushed away and steps following reached his ears, pulling him out of his train of thoughts.

“Are you okay, Prompto? You look pale and you got bags under your eyes. It appears to me you had a rough night?” She was honestly worried. Luna always cared for his well-being to no less. Always putting others in the first place. That's what she’s been all these years and Prompto was really happy to have her as a support. Everything about her calmed him down, grounded him, gave him some kind of stability in his life. If he could talk with anyone about the recent events then it would be her, right?

“Y-yeah… yeah I'm okay.” He sat down on his own chair and his shoulders slumped down. “Can I ask you something, Luna?” His gaze resting on her face to wait if she was showing any signs of concern, but Luna only nodded and sat down next to him, placing a hand on his and trying to give him some reassurance.

“Of course. What's on your mind?”

“U-uhm… well, do you believe… people could actually experience something they already have done?” Prompto really tried to put the words as non-crazy as possible. It still sounded so weird in his ears he grimaced at it slightly. Luna let the words sink in and gave a thoughtful hum.

“You mean like a déjà vu?”

“Hrm.. yeah something like that, not exactly though. I mean like you.. already experienced it in the same way. Not in a dream I mean.” _Good job, Prompto. She will definitely think you've lost your mind and get you to the next hospital._

But it never happened. Instead she leaned back and crossed one leg over the other.

“Oh.. like a former life.” Yeah well that was still not exactly what Prompto meant, but it was getting closer. He wasn't feeling up to push it further, because Luna would probably insist him to see a doctor and if he had hit his head at the morning training. So he shrugged and nodded helplessly. “Well… people say sometimes we experience something in a former life and the memories are still lingering around in our heads. Usually only crossing our minds in our dreams where the branches between our current ones and these from the past are close to another. So it might be possible. Why do you ask anyway?”

Her blue eyes rested on him with a worried expression, not sure if Prompto had more serious intentions about this ask. It took him a second to regain his composure, waving with one hand he hoped Luna wouldn't dig deeper in it.

“Oh- … uhm I was just curious. I had a feeling I already did something the other day and I was wondering what you think about former lives and such.” He tried to laugh as chirpy as always and eventually his assistant let go of the topic. Although the concern was still creeping around the honest smile she was giving him. Probably she knew she wouldn't get any better answer out of her friend.

Prompto reached for the letters on the desk, now more confident in his doings now and flipped through the envelopes. He didn't care about the unimportant ones until he reached this black one he already had seen for two times now. The gold insignia sealing the black paper decorated with ornaments. He addressed the piece of paper to Luna like he had done the last few times as far as he remembered and folded it together, slipping it into his vest pocket.

“Uhm Luna, would you mind to keep an eye on the studio for a few hours? I have an errand to run and it's really important.” Clapping his hands together Prompto looked at her almost begging.

It took her by surprise but after checking up his calendar there was nothing marked down for at least early evening.

“Sure. Don’t forget your meeting at five later.”

“I won't. Thank you Luna, I'm counting on you!” He walked over to Luna and hugged her slender shoulders, only to earn another giggle and get shooed away. Grabbing his bag Prompto head outside, back to his motorcycle and hit the road right after.

His next destination was the citadel. The building towering over him as soon as he got closer. While still driving through the streets Prompto somehow remembered that he had no idea how to get into the palace at all. It was not like he could just go to the main gate, tell them ‘yeah Prince Noctis told me I should come here’. Sure thing… if anyone was going to believe this and let him have a sweet chit chat with the Crown Prince. Yeah. Not gonna happen in any way. He probably had to find out how to get past the guards.

Which - by the way - didn’t look friendly at all when he reached the entrance of the main gate.

Prompto got slower as he tried to figure out what was the best option. There weren’t many possibilities at hand either and maybe he should just try to talk to the guards? Even if they didn’t look friendly at all.

“You! Stop right there!” The blond jerked violently by the command and hit the brake hard enough, his bike bucked up; coming to a stop right in front of the gate. “You have no permission to be on royal grounds. Turn around and leave.” The guard looked at him all serious as, his eyes fixed on every move Prompto did as he slowly took off his helmet.

“I-I’m sorry, I’m..,” he trailed off and wasn’t sure how to word things. What should he say? The truth? Or lie? No one would ever believe in his words. Slowly he walked up to the guards, his knees feeling like jelly and his hands were sweating. “.. the assigned photographer for the ceasefire meeting in two days.” With trembling fingers he searched for the invitation letter in his jacket. From the corner of his eyes he could see how the guard reached for the rifle at his belt and Prompto wasn't sure if he could even show him the proof before getting shot down. He bit his lip and tried to calm his racing heartbeat as his fingers finally touched the paper and pulled it out. “H-Here.”

Holding it out to the guard his eyes rested on the face of the soldier, who only took a short glance at it and wrinkled his nose.

“I don't care if you have an invitation. The meeting is scheduled in two days. This doesn't mean you have access to the citadel before the day after tomorrow.” The guard looked at him, the stern expression warning to not provoke any confrontations here. Two other men on their positions of the gate were already eyeing them, probably keeping an eye on him if they needed to step in.

Prompto tried to clear his throat as he felt like a lump had formed in it, trying to find the right words to explain himself. Maybe he should just try it with telling the truth.

“Sir, I know I shouldn't be here… but my plea is about that exact meeting. All I can say is… Prince Noctis told me to come here because I need to talk to him.”

The guard let out a frustrated groan as he took the rifle in hand as a more visible threat for the blond and it worked for a short second. Prompto backed down with one step, trying to hold back this inhuman noise which was already lying on the tip of his tongue. 

“Of course he told you. I can’t count the times I’ve heard these words from journalists and whatnot. Now turn around and leave. I won’t repeat it again.” The man gestured to the motorcycle, his eyes still focused on Prompto and keeping an eye on every move he made. Usually Prompto would now just give in and leave, but his fear of getting killed now turned slowly into a state of frustration. Of course he knew they couldn’t just let it anyone get through with this, but he wasn’t anyone in the first place?

“Why are you not even listening? I told you it’s important! Ask him yourself if you don’t believe me!” 

He could see the tensing muscles as he stepped closer, the fingers already on the trigger and Prompto bit down hard on his bottom lip to withstand the urge to run away.  
  
“Listen, boy! The current situation is tight until the contracts are signed. We have the order to neutralize any threat to the kingdom and the royal family. So don’t tempt me to do it.” The guards voice was deep and dangerous, leaving no space to believe he would refrain from shooting at all, if Prompto would provoke it, but he had no other choice.  
  
“There will be no kingdom in two days anyway! Everyone is going to die and I have to talk to the prince, so that-,” he wasn’t able to finish his sentence anyway as the guard gestured to one of the others, interrupting Prompto with it.

“Alright, that’s enough. You're under arrest. Take him in.”  
  
Prompto raised his hands in a defending manner, looking in shock at the other two men coming up to him to get him cuffed. Eventually they got a hold of him and the only thing he could do was trying to keep up his resistance, struggling with arms and feet to free himself and raising his voice in an effort that the guards would finally pay some attention to his words.  
  
Only until he heard that sudden noise snap through the air, loud and ripping everything apart around him as the world turned into pitch black for Prompto.

 

Like waking from an unpleasant dream his violet-blue eyes shot open and his stomach flipped like it was about to turn itself around, leaving him feeling sick and like he’s about to throw up. Fortunately he was able to refrain from it whilst turning on his side and bending over the edge of his bed. The alarming sound of his clock on the nightstand was resounding in his head and gave him headaches. Trying to not start gagging it took him a moment to calm himself.

Fuck… this really didn’t went well.

Prompto turned around and lied on his back, both hands resting on his face and rubbing over his cheeks and forehead. A low sound full of desperation escaped his throat when he stared at the ceiling, trying to remember what had just happened. Well, talking to the guards wasn’t the best idea in this case it seems. 

_How the fuck am I supposed to get to the prince if they don’t even let me through?_ , Prompto asked himself and slowly - still shaking - untangled his legs from the sheets. At least he had the confirmation that this wasn’t just a dream and that he was going to start right here in his bed again as soon as he died. _Guess this is just try and error then_ , he groaned to himself. Maybe he would somehow get used to the feeling of getting killed and waking up here, although Prompto wasn’t exactly sure if he could keep it up to not just throw up if this would happen a couple of more times.

He wasn’t looking forward to this at all…

 

* * *

 

With a heavy sigh Prompto sat down on a bench, overshadowed by a tree. The quiet sound of wind ruffling through the green leaves caught up by his ears as he closed his violet-blue eyes and tilted his head back. He had no idea how to manage to get to the prince at all.

The last try hadn’t gone well either. On the other hand, just trying to march through the main gate with his motorcycle maybe hasn’t been his best idea either. He had waited a long time, just observing the guards from afar and cars passing by. When the gate finally got opened he just tried to race through it.  
  
He managed it to the square in front of the citadel before he got shot down another time.

Without any questions this time.

His stomach hadn’t taken this very well either.

Somehow he was able to calm himself down after awhile but the question was still on his mind, like how was he supposed to get to Noctis in the first place. The main get wasn’t an option, so what else of possibilities existed?

He raised one of his hands and rubbed over his face with his palm before taking a look at the smartphone in his other hand. It still showed his text messages which he had sent to Lunafreya this morning and telling her that he wouldn’t come over to work because he was feeling sick. Maybe he could ask his assistant if she could ask the prince to appear at the studio? She knew him at least.

On the side that would just raise questions and Prompto wasn’t willed to answer on those at all. So he just sat there on this wooden bench in the park and thinking if he should just go back home, hide under his blanket and never come out again.

Prompto was about to rise from his seat, when he heard a mewling sound.

He shot a glance into the direction where the noise came from and spotted a cat, looking intently at him through it’s green round eyes. The cat’s ears twitched for a second and the tail swished around wildly. A smile appeared on Prompto’s lips and the tension released a bit. The blond really loved all kinds of animals; dogs, cats, chocobos. Simply everything. Expect from bugs. Bugs were completely disgusting and he could definitely live without them.

The cat mewled again and after Prompto considered it for awhile he eventually decided to get up and walk over to the kitty.

"Hey there, little one," he started and slowly kneeled down, reaching out for the cat to stroke it. It moved right in that moment, running to the wall, which was separating the park from the royal grounds. But there was something, Prompto hadn't seen earlier.

It looked like a service room, built into the wall. Surely it was just there for power and water reasons if he thought about the fountains in the middle of the park and the city lights.

The cat looked at him again before it walked into the small building. Prompto frowned as he watched it disappearing. What was a cat doing in there? Not that he wasn't used to cats searching for weird places but still. Well... it wouldn't hurt to take a look right?

Following his curiosity he walked down the few stairs, glancing around if no one was looking at him and entered the little maintenance room; just that it was not really a room. As soon as he hit the bottom of the staircase he stood at the and of a corridor, pipes were attached to the wall.

_I wonder where this path leads... where did she go?_ , Prompto squinted through the dusky hallway and eventually spotted his newfound companion, walking to the end of the corridor. At the end, the cat turned and seemed to walk up another pair of stairs. He didn't know where the stairs were leading but he remembered that the citadel was in that direction, so... well what did he have to lose? He could at least give it a try.

His steps echoed from the walls as he crossed the hallway, stopping at the bottom staircase and looking up. He could see sunlight, a light blue sky and hear the melody of birds chirping happily. _Or maybe it's just another part of the park_ , Prompto thought to himself and sighed. Clutching to the handrail he walked up and carefully looked around when he reached the top.

The park was gone and as far as he could see he was.... really close to the citadel. Fuck. He guessed this may be some kind of secret passage and Prompto made a mental note to himself to remember this, if he needed to search for a way into the palace. Albeit the blond still panicked inside his head about what could happen if someone would catch him.

He would surely be thrown into the dungeon and would never see daylight again for the rest of his life. Anyway he should concentrate on the important things for now or so he told himself, just to shake of this feeling of anxiety. The question was… how was he supposed to get inside the building?

Not that this was any better.

Prompto let his eyes wander and eventually caught sight of a little building made from glass, it seemed like a wintergarden, because there were a lot of plants in it as far as he could see. Also he noticed the cat walking around the place, so there had to be a way into it.

There was a little window on the ground, slightly tipped and Prompto guessed the cat had sneaked through it. Somehow, all of a sudden, the blond was relieved he's so slender.

With a heavy sigh he crouched and pushed his bag through the opening, crawling through the window until he was finally able to sit up on the other side. Yes, he really was happy of not being the fat poor kid anymore.

Adjusting his clothes his violet-blue eyes looked around, taking in the beautiful sight of the paradise in front of him. This totally didn’t look like a wintergarden… it was more kind of a greenhouse. A little oasis in the middle of impressive architecture made from stone and marble.

Being all in awe, he shouldered his backpack. There were a lot of exotic looking plants and flowers, colored in vibrant various shades of violet, red and yellow. His ears caught the faint sound of a fountain somewhere behind another hedge. Carefully he took a few steps forward and peeked around, blinking in confusion when he heard a person chuckling. Another step and he was finally able to lean a bit more forward and getting a glimpse of the display in front of him.

There _he_ was. The prince.

Sitting at the edge of the fountain, the cat Prompto had chased until now, sat to the raven’s right and nibbled at some food. Probably Noctis had brought it for the cat. Somehow this image was really cute, so peaceful and...

A cracking sound echoed through the quiet place as Prompto accidentally stepped on a piece of a broken flower tub. Surely someone forgot to threw it away and now it betrayed him and his efforts in being as quiet as possible.

"Who is there?"

Prompto had already withdrawn behind the flowers and plants again, but he could hear Noctis' voice clearly, sending a shiver of anxiety through him. Not that the prince sounded like he was going to behead him at the next moment, but still Prompto had his doubts.

He tried to fight it down, because the prince had been the one to call him here in the first place so what did he have to lose? Taking a deep breath he slowly came out of his hiding, his gaze focused on the ground.

"I-I'm sorry to-" , Prompto started and jerked almost violently as he looked up and stared at the tip of a sword pointed at him directly. ".. uah! W-Wait! I don't have any bad intentions, p-please!" His hands shot up in a defending gesture, taking another step back and bending slightly backwards. His eyes caught the gaze of bright blue orbs watching him intently in suspicion.

Well, he couldn't really hold it against him... a stranger just appearing out of nowhere was kind of dubious.

"We'll see. Tell me who you are and what you want." Although Noctis demanded him to tell him the truth, he sounded relaxed enough that he wasn’t going to just chop him down with that sharp weapon. So Prompto tried to calm down a bit. Pushing his fear into the farest corner in the back of his mind.  

"O-Okay, listen... m-my name is Prompto Argentum. I got invited to be the photographer for the ceasefire meeting..," he started and swallowed hard, gaze wandering from the sword over to Noctis and back. He could see how the raven slightly shifted in his stand, moving his weight from one foot onto the other. His hand still wrapped around the grip of the sword.

"Prompto?" Noctis tilted his head and quirked a brow. "I remember, yeah. I gave the invitation to Luna."

Prompto just opened his mouth in the attempt to continue his explanation but closed it again shortly after, looking like a fish without water probably; violet eyes widening in shock. Wait… _what_ ? Noctis was the one who had given the letter to Luna? His assistant and best friend since high school? Oh dear gods… _what_?

“That was.. you?” The blond couldn't believe what he just heard. Of course Luna had told him she had connections to the royal family, but from Prince Noctis himself?

“Uhm.. yeah?” The prince nodded slowly, frowning in confusion. “But that wasn’t an invitation to break into here?” He continued, pointing out that Prompto still was nothing closer with his explanation why he had sneaked into the palace. Not that Noct couldn’t defend himself and deal with an intruder, but usually his advisor or the staff would have called security anyway.

Prompto remembered what he was about to say and flailed wildly, stuttering through the first words to get a coherent sentence together. His knees still felt wobbly like they were made out of muddled pudding. He feared they would gave in at any second.

"N-No! It's not like that! I mean... you told me to come here in the first place! Now, would you be so kind and... take that pointy thing out of my face, please? It took me three tries to even get here, I don't want to repeat this again." Prompto finally breathed out and his arms fell to the sides of his body. Slowly, very slowly, the blond seemed to relax.

Noctis looked confused by these words at first, but in the end he gave in to his plea and the blade vanished. Thank goodness, Prompto wasn't sure what he'd done if he had to go through this again. The prince didn't say anything but looked at him expectant. Understandable, so the blond just tried to get on with the story he was supposed to tell. "Listen, ugh... I don't know if you can remember, but you told me to come here when I wake up."

"Did I?" Bright blue eyes narrowed and Noctis shifted his weight again, eyeing the other intently.

“Y-Yeah…?” Prompto guessed that the prince didn’t remember as he did, so he tried to get back to his explanation, taking another deep breath before that. “The meeting in two days will fail… the last time I was there, you saved me and told me you need to talk to me as soon as I get back. I mean… after… I died.” His voice trailed off, betraying his confidence he had had a few moments ago.

This is ridiculous; as if the prince would believe that.

“You said… you’ve needed three tries now to get here?” Noctis finally asked, his gaze had dropped to the ground, caught up in his thoughts. Prompto only furrowed his brows.

“Well, yeah? Because you didn’t spezify how I’d be able to meet you. So… ugh.. I tried it at the main gate, but the guards weren’t so understanding, to be honest.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at his own feet, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. The color only deepened when he heard the prince chuckling to himself and Prompto looked up to meet an amused smirk, whilst Noctis had placed his hands on his own hips.

“You really tried it through the main entrance?” He could barely hold his laugh, causing Prompto to pout and cross his arms.

“Uhm yeah? What were I supposed to do else, if you didn’t tell me how to do it??” The blond was happy Noctis didn’t seem to think he’s gone insane, but he was surely not coming here to entertain him with his ‘keep on dying’-attempts.

“Sorry it’s just..”

“Noct?”

Before Noctis could even explain what’s so funny, another voice disrupted the silence around them and Noctis turned his head in the direction where it was coming from. Prompto almost yelped and asked himself if it would be better to just hide behind the plants again, but he had no time to even consider it. Another person joined their awkward meeting.

Prompto assumed he belonged to the Crownsguard as he was clad in the royal colors of black and purple. Silver-black gloves were covering his hands and he almost made the impression of being more like a butler, the blond thought to himself. Knowing that wasn’t quite right.

“Hey Ignis.” Noctis said and casually raised one hand in a waving gesture, not minding at all that he was still talking to a - more or less - _intruder_.

“There you are. I was looking for you in your study, but you…” The man trailed of and his gaze came to rest on Prompto, who squirmed silently under the observing look behind those glasses. “May I ask, who your new acquaintance is?”

The prince blinked a few times before looking at Prompto again.

“Uh… right. This is Prompto. He’s a friend of Luna, you remember?”

Ignis tilted his head oh so slightly, green eyes narrowing as he seemed to evaluate if the blond was maybe being a threat or not. At least Prompto thought so and he had to withstand the urge to turn around and run away. Somehow he managed to fight it down and straighten his posture. His muscles still feel tensed all over.

“Yes, the photographer you mentioned. I wonder how he got in here without my knowledge.”

“Uhm..”

The way Noctis seemed to ponder what to answer made Prompto even more anxious, what if Ignis would just make sure he gets thrown out or something? Or… even worse… he gets thrown into the dungeon? Oh gods. Fortunately the prince answered before the blond could say anything else. “It doesn’t matter. Anyway, Ignis, where is my father?”

Ignis eyed the stranger for a few more seconds before redirecting his attention at Noctis, adjusting his glasses and clearing his throat quietly.

“The king is still in a meeting with the Lucian council and discussing the ceasefire conditions.” He declared without giving any second thoughts about a young man, who didn’t belong here in the first place. Probably because he knew the prince better than a lot of other people and Prompto assumed that he trusted him enough to know Noctis wouldn’t treat a threat like a normal friend.

“Tell him I need to talk to him immediately.” Noctis said and stepped closer to Prompto, trying to give him a reassuring smile. The blond almost shrieked when a hand placed itself on his shoulder and gently pushed him in the direction of the doors.

“Wouldn’t it be better to consider waiting until they finished the meeting, Noct?” Bright green eyes observed them both, switching between Prompto and Noctis, who had pushed the blond into the marbled corridor connecting the garden to the rest of the citadel.

“No, it has to be now. Please go tell him, Ignis.” At first Ignis didn’t seem all too happy about the plans of the prince in interrupting the meeting of his father, but on the other hand Noctis surely had his reasons.

“Of course. I’ll meet you at the entrance hall then.”

“Thanks, Ignis.”

 

* * *

 

Prompto shifted his weight uncomfortably from one foot to another, fidgeting with his fingers and licking his lips as they went dry constantly. Seriously, he had no idea what was happening. A few days ago he had thought, he was just a normal man. Maybe a bit lucky to have a good friend, working with him and now, in a couple of hours, his whole life seemed to get turned inside out.

Prompto would never have imagined he'd meet the prince and even more... he'd never thought he has to talk to the king himself.

His violet-eyes were scanning the almost intimidating enormous hall, his head resting slightly in his neck as he took a look at the beautiful paintings. If he wouldn't feel as if he was about to die right on the spot, he might have enjoyed it to examine them closer and take a few pictures. But his racing heart in his chest told him otherwise.

He would die of a damn heartattack, he’s totally sure.

Noctis stood next to him, arms crossed over his chest, a serious expression on his face. Whatever it was, what he wanted to discuss with his father and Prompto, it must be really important. Bright blue eyes blinked as he noticed the blond staring and a soothing smile spread on his features.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine."

A faint shade of peachy color spread on Prompto's cheeks and a weak laugh escaped his throat. It was only halfway honest... because he was really nervous about this. Who knows what the King of Lucis might do if a commoner like him was telling him about this story. Prompto opened his mouth, the words already on his tongue, but was interrupted by the heavy creaking of the golden doors, leading to the throne. Ignis, if he remembered his name correctly, stepped out and adjusted his glasses.

"King Regis will listen to you now." He said, his gaze resting on Noctis before giving Prompto an observing look. Prompto suddenly felt like Ignis could see right through him and into his soul, checking if there was really something important or if he was just making this up for other purposes. Unconsciously Prompto stepped closer to Noctis.

"Thanks, Ignis." The prince straightened his posture and walked into the throne room, Prompto a few steps behind him, a bit more to his side. At first his gaze wandered over his surroundings, taking in the details of the architecture. He didn't even notice how his mouth opened in an expression of awe. Like the meeting room he has already seen in the ceasefire event, the marbled walls were high, light falling through tall windows and lightening the hall. 

He lowered his look and almost jumped when he met the gaze of the king. His own movements suddenly as stiff as a wooden plank as he walked to the front of the throne, stopping at the bottom of the black staircase.

Prompto had seen Regis a lot of times in the media and newspapers, his face was nothing new to him. Still under the observing hazel colored eyes, clear like crystals, a lump was growing in his throat.  
  
In the corner of his eyes he noticed how Noctis bowed down and Prompto mimicked his action maybe a bit too abruptly to not notice how nervous he really was. Regis didn't comment on this and took a deep breath.  
  
"Noctis, what is the reason for your sudden request to talk to me? As you know the council and I still have a lot to discuss for the ceasefire contracts." Regis voice was calm and it sounded nothing like he would be displeased. Still there was a reminding tone in his voice, clearly pointing out he wasn't interrupting his conferences for unimportant matters.  
  
Prompto opened and closed his hands in repeating motions, his palms felt sweaty and ice cold, but he risked a glance over to Noctis, who - thank the gods - took over the talking. 

"Yes, of course, but I'm sure you will find this interesting." Noctis went silent for a second as he tried to sort out how to explain things in the best possible way. "This is Prompto Argentum. He is going to be the photographer for the meeting in two days. Or better.. he was proclaimed to do so and has something to tell you." he continued and gestured over to Prompto, who looked like he was going to be executed in the next two minutes. "He is like me."  
  
These last words were the reason for a change on the unreadable face of the king as he shifted slightly on his seat. His hands still settled on the armrests of marbled stone as Regis leaned a bit more forward.  
  
"Is that so?"

Prompto looked over to Noctis and back at Regis, completely helpless of what they were talking about. What did he mean 'he is like him'? That doesn't make sense in any way! 

He opened and closed his mouth for a couple of times and surely looked like a fish without water until Noctis gently nudged an elbow into his side.  
  
"C'mon ... tell us what you saw." Urging him again his bright blue eyes looked encouraging and Prompto took all of his willpower left to move his attention back to the king, swallowing hard.  
  
"Uh... y-yeah. This... this sounds totally crazy, I don't believe it myself, but I have no idea what's happening. The only thing I know is... I have been at the ceasefire meeting two times already." Prompto tried to explain it as simple as possible, just trying to not stumble over his own words or lose track of the thread as he stuttered his way through at the beginning. Taking another deep breath his shoulders lowered slightly, "It's going to fail. The Crown City is going to be attacked and everyone will die. Including myself. However... everytime... I woke up in my bed in the morning, always at the same time."  
  
This was it. He said it and it sounded like the words of someone who has lost his mind in his ears and he definitely belonged into some kind of hospital.  
  
Strangely Regis didn't laugh, he didn't make a face and gave him no other signal to judge him for what he just said. His eyes only had a glint of curiosity in them, as far as Prompto could see it.  
  
"And... you say you woke up to the same time as before?" He asked, checking if he understood him correctly. Prompto hesitated and nodded slowly, only to see Regis quirking an eyebrow. "Well, he is not completely like you were, my son."  
  
Noctis hummed quietly to himself, a hand propped on his hip and eyeing his newfound friend thoughtfully.  
  
"What are you both even talking about??" The blond flailed wildly until he noticed how disrespectful this might have sounded in the presence of royalty and his cheeks turned beet red. "U--uhm.. I mean... I'm sorry, your Majesty-"

He wasn't sure if he was actually relieved or even more anxious when Regis chuckled to himself, the corners of his mouth curled into a little smile.  
  
"Don't worry, you are forgiven, young man." Regis slowly rose to his feet, taking the cane which had rested against the side of the throne until now. Prompto had never realised the king might struggle with his health and to see how he supported his weight on the beautiful manufactured wood almost tipped his urge for helping.

A man already paced to his side. Someone Prompto didn't even notice until now... still he had the feeling he had seen him somewhere already. He furrowed his brows and tried to reconstruct where it was, but he couldn't quite pinpoint it. It was Regis voice, which was stopping his train of thoughts in the end. "Noctis, I'll leave it to you to... explain everything to him. I need to discuss this with the council. This might be the chance we have been waiting for."  
  
"Yes, of course." Noctis bowed again and Prompto followed his action, this time a bit faster in his reaction, before the prince turned around and gesturing for their leave.  
  
Prompto still had no idea what was going on as they got back to the entrance hall where Ignis was already waiting for them. Green observing eyes behind glasses settled down on Noctis as soon as the prince got in sight.  
  
"I guess, talking to your father had important intentions. What is this about, if I may ask?" The first wave of suspicion seemed to have vanished, although Prompto was sure he was still not trusting him completely. Fair enough.  
  
"Uhm yeah... apparently Prompto has the ability. So Dad thinks he is the chance we're waiting for." The blond was standing next to the other two and felt totally helpless, and at the same time already irritated that everyone knew what was going on except him.  
  
"Would someone please feel free to enlighten me??" He said and pursed his lips; a pout forming on his freckled face. He met Noctis' gaze and looked down to his own feet shortly after, feeling ashamed a bit by his own words.

"Sure... uhm Ignis, would you explain the situation to him? I have to call Gladio over. Is he with Iris?" Noctis already fetched his phone out of his pocket, halfway turning away from them.  
  
"Of course, and yes, he said he would be back later in the afternoon."  
  
With a huff Prompto sat down on one of the seats in the entrance hall, his violet-blue eyes fixed on the royal advisor. Ignis stepped closer, only glancing over to Noctis as he walked away with his phone held close to his ear. He turned his attention back to the blond and sighed heavily. "I suppose that you already know about the situation between Niflheim and Lucis, right?"  
  
Prompto looked onto his lap and bit his lip. Of course he knew. Who wouldn't?  
  
"Yeah...," he added, folding his hands in his lap and nodded. The war was a constant topic in the medias. Not surprising at all by the amount of innocent people dying in the battles.  
  
"Years ago the chancellor from Niflheim was interested in the old myths and lores around Eos, telling tales about an old crystal. After searching for it for a long time, he eventually found it."  
  
Prompto tried to follow Ignis' words as best as he could. He had heard of the tales talking about a mysterious crystal; hidden somewhere in this world... but also the myths and prophecies which had come with it. The darkness it should bring if someone might find it.  
  
But he hasn't expected this thing would exist for real. Or someone would might find it.  
  
"To my understanding, the chancellor supported the research on the crystal by Verstael Besithia - possibly a name you may already be familiar with. It backfired however, infecting both the chancellor and Besithia as well as allowing for the creation of daemons." Ignis watched Prompto for some time, letting the words sink in; only glancing towards Noctis as the prince finally ended his call and let his phone slip into his pocket again.

"So... he became a daemon himself?" Prompto still wasn't sure what this had to do with him at all, but the feeling inside his stomach already told him it wouldn't be good.  
  
"I believe so."

"I still don't understand what this has to do with me to be honest." Prompto ran a hand through his blonde messy hair, his violet-eyes moving over to Noctis as he stepped closer.

"It seems that some daemons possess the ability to turn back time, when they die. Probably it has to do with the scourge or with the crystal itself. It's a problem." Noctis said and sat down next to Prompto, leaving a bit of space between them. He leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, his blue eyes looked over to Ignis, who continued his explanation from earlier.  
  
"It's a considerable disadvantage during battle, so far proving very effective against Lucian forces. The council called for research of our own as a response, with which we were rather successful. Although the results were..," his gaze flickered over to Noctis for a second, before returning back to Prompto, "... only trusted to high-ranked hands."  
  
Prompto's eyes widened by this information, turning his attention to Noctis. He wasn't stupid and able count one and one together.  
  
"T-They... they made experiments on the king's own son??" He wasn't believing what he had heard but Noctis shrugged it off.  
  
"I volunteered."  
  
"Ah."  
  
Prompto was tempted to say that this wasn't making it any better but he bit down the urge and waited for the prince to continue.  
  
"Anyway I was only able to reset time for around 32 hours if I died." Noctis said this so casually, the blond almost choked on his own spit. Seriously... how could he say this as it was nothing? He only experienced this for two times and it was already enough. Enough to make him feel like he was already losing his mind and turning crazy. "Also, each time it got less..."  
  
"Less?"  
  
"Yes. With each time Noct died, the resetted time lost a few minutes and with each try the gabs grew wider. It makes altering past steps more difficult every time. Earlier altered actions can maybe not be reset anymore at a certain point and leading into a dead end." Somehow the way Ignis worded this, made Prompto think something like this must have happened.  
  
It was just too obvious if they were looking for another one with this ability now.  
  
"So.... I guess this.. dead end has happened?" He asked carefully, his fingers idly tugging at the fabric of his leopard patterned jeans.

"You could say so. Or better- I lost the ability at last." Noctis had moved only so slightly next to him, leaning backwards and staring at an invisible spot at the wall across from them.

"You lost it? But how? Did it just stop working?"  
  
As soon as Prompto had muttured out the words, he could see how Noctis' face changed. It was not like he might be sour about this question but there was something different. The way his gaze dropped to the ground and his shoulders stiffened. Prompto was sure, even if he didn't want to talk about it, there were enough memories of the reason in Noctis' head right now.  
  
Ignis noticed it too and coughed quietly, drawing Prompto's attention back to him.  
  
"Fact is Noct lost the possibility to reset time to a certain point and Lucis is now standing at the beginning again. With you we might have a new chance to turn the tables and end this misery once and for all." Ignis tried his best to sound reassuring, because he didn't want to scare the boy away. By the way Prompto was looking at him completely horrified, it didn't seem to work at all.  
  
"W-Wait... you mean... you want me to go on the battlefield?? Against.. daemons?" The blond rose to his feet and almost stumbled over his own legs, his arms flailing wildly. "Seriously guys... I'm no hero. I'm not a fighter. I'm not even very brave. I almost shit my pants while watching horror movies. I'm sorry, you have the wrong person." He shook his hands in a defending way and looked down at his boots.  
  
This was not _his_ war. He didn't ask to be some kind of hero, saving the world.  
  
He heard Noctis taking a deep breath before getting up and coming to a stand right in front of him.  
  
"Listen, Prompto. I'm sorry you got dragged into this and I can understand why you back out. But in all honesty, ask yourself... what is the better choice? Just dying in two days and repeating this time over and over in a never ending loop? Or trying to find a way to end it, even if it means to give your life for it a few times." His blue eyes were trained on Prompto, who swallowed hard. Suddenly feeling so exposed completely like he had never been. Every fear he ever had, now bare in front of the prince.

"I... I don't know..." Prompto finally breathed out and his hands curled into fists. "I mean... you don't even know if I can help. Who says that I don't just lose it like you did?" He could see how Noctis tensed, but there was no change to be seen in the deep blue depths.  
  
It was Ignis' time to get up from his seat, giving a thoughtful hum. Noctis picked up on it when he remembered the blond's words from the throne room earlier.  
  
"Prompto, you said whenever you died, you woke up at the same time. It didn't matter if you died earlier or later, even if the time lapse was shifted. There has to be a reason why it's working like this..." Noctis tried to give him a smile and placed his hands on the slender shoulders. "Your ability works different than mine. With you we might have the chance to end this madness. Please, Prompto..."  
  
Prompto looked up as he heard those words, not quite sounding like a plea but there was definitely a very faint underlined tone of desperation in Noctis' voice. The blond had to admit that either the prince and Ignis were right. There would be no other way to stop this and he wasn't really fond of the thought to re-live these three days over and over.  
  
"I guess... I.. d-don't really have a choice, do I?" He smiled weakly, the corners of his mouth crooked awkwardly until it vanished as fast as it had come. Noctis only shrugged his shoulders in resignation and shook his head. It was only that. There was nothing more for Prompto to decide on. Running a hand through his blond hair, he looked around helplessly. "So... what are we going to do now?"

Noctis opened his mouth but Ignis cut him off before he could say anything.  
  
"First, you should take a bit of time to relax and process what you have heard. Because I dare to say we have a lot of training ahead of us."  
  
Prompto groaned quietly and hardly saw the awkward yet somehow reassuring smile on Noctis features.  
  
"Training?"  
  
"Yeah... we need to get out of the city and destroy the crystal. You should be able to defend yourself at least, so you're not dying right away." Of course Noctis tried to cheer him up with it but it only had little success and Prompto was only giving an insecure 'uhu' to him as a reply. "Did you wield a weapon before?"  
  
"U-uhm... no?"  
  
"Not even a gun?"

"Nope. Like I said, I'm a mere photographer, working in my own studio with a friend." He reaffirmed and threw his hands helplessly in the air. What did they expect? Not every person likes fighting and weapons...  
  
Noctis raised his hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose.  
  
"Gladio is going to be delighted..." he snorted, his voice dripping from sheer irony. It didn't help to ease Prompto's anxieties at all.  
  
"W-Who is Gladio?" Prompto asked and fiddled nervously with a few buttons on his vest. He wasn't really sure if he'd liked to know.  
  
"He is a friend of mine... and my tutor. He trained me for combat." The prince fetched his phone out of his pocket, taking another look at the time it was showing. Gladio said he would need around one or two hours until he would be here. "He is a good guy but sometimes... a bit ruthless." He rubbed his neck with one hand, pretty sure this wasn't making Prompto much more happier.  
  
"Oh nice. What a great outlook."  
  
Prompto already assumed the next days wouldn't be easy at all.

 

 

As soon as he met the Shield of the Prince all his worries were confirmed. He wasn't looking forward to these next days at all.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it. This chapter was horrible, I guess it's horrible to read too. Please don't hurt me. There is a lot of information going on here, but on the other hand the first Impact of info is just as planned as overwhelming as it is for Prompto so yeah. 
> 
> Let's see how our sunshine boy is dealing with the upcoming stuff ewe. I'm a monster. Someone take the bby away from me. 
> 
> Inspirational Songs:  
> Rachie - ChiruChiru  
> Kuraiinu - Pathos  
> Linkin Park - Heavy
> 
> Also if you're interested here is the full playlist I put together for the fic:  
> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXRINW5U4ldwuZHF7KIuMZyYnH1lSc5Vu
> 
> Keep an eye on it, more music is maybe going to be added. Until then, see you soon!


	4. It feels like an Eternity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! 
> 
> I'm so damn sorry, it's been two months already since my last chapter and it's time to update again. Sadly I first had a writers block somehow and couldn't really write on anything. Now I finally managed to get this done and I'm... more or less satisfied with it. 
> 
> As we're going now with big steps into the direction of the actual story I want to use this opportunity to remind you that this story has violence, character death and apparently also suicide mentions. It's Edge of Tomorrow AU. So you know what you have to expect. Anyway I hope you like it and thanks for being so patient about the slow update <3.

 

 

"Again."

"Again."

" _AND AGAIN_."

Prompto let out a pained groan when he landed on his ass in the training room. Glaring at the tattooed guy in front of him, standing there with a sour look and a broad sword in his hand, Prompto rubbed his own aching butt.

Why did he say yes to this fucking mission anyway? He should just have turned around, leave the city together with Luna and hope everything would be fine somewhere else. Maybe he should have gotten on the next boat to Accordo.

To be honest Prompto felt really exhausted and as if he hadn't slept for at least a few weeks, if not even months. Although he was probably only repeating this fucking day over and over and he had stopped counting how many times he had to come back to the citadel already.

Shortly after his first meeting with the prince and his advisor and his own stupid decision to help these people - and the 'country' - they had been waiting for this 'Gladio' to come back to the palace. In the end Prompto learned his name was Gladiolus Amicitia and he was not only Noctis' tutor in his childhood, he was also his Shield and in charge to keep an eye on the Crown Prince; to make sure nothing happens to the heir of Lucis. Gladio scared the hell out of him with his broad shoulders and grumpy look, scars lined over his left eye and across his forehead. He was taking his job very seriously, Prompto supposed by the way the older man looked. On the other hand no wonder Noctis was really good in fighting with a sword - or basically almost any weapon.

Prompto has seen it in the training hall when Noct and Gladio started a little sparring to show the newcomer what he had to expect. The blonde noticed how Noctis was shifting between a few weapons the whole battle; a sword, a lance, a broad swort (he did seem to have some trouble with the weight though) and a pair of daggers. Gods, this man was really talented when it came to fighting. A complete contrary to Prompto himself, who felt kind of lost when Noct pushed a training sword into his hands, the feeling utterly unfamiliar.

They noticed really fast that swords were not Prompto's expertise at all. He tried his best, but in the end he had to shake his head and give it back. The same happened with pole arms and daggers and Noctis noticed soon his newfound friend wasn't happy about close combat at all. They switched to something different after that and guns seemed to do it. First Prompto was still frightened how to use it but a few hours at the gun range seemed to ease that a bit. The most problematic thing was now to avoid and counter attacks from enemies and, well, Gladio wasn't going easy on Prompto in any way.

Noctis sighed and walked over, gave the blonde a hand and pulled him up on his feet. He ignored the low grumble of Gladio behind him.

"This is no damn joke, Prompto! Concentrate!" Gladio barked at the gunner and rested the sword on his shoulder as if it wouldn't weigh anything.

"What do you think I'm doing, big guy?" Prompto massaged his shoulder, it was hurting like hell and he assumed it was probably sprained. "I'm actually doing this for about two weeks now! You don't have to fucking kill me everytime I just get a stupid scratch!" Violet-blue eyes met the gaze of amber brown and while he had been very scared in the first days of his training, he was now at the point to shoot back.

Something which, although it shouldn't be funny, amused Noctis from time to time. Seeing them bantering distracted him from his own dark thoughts. He had a lot of respect for Prompto, to be honest. The blonde had gotten into this mess without asking for it and at first he had been meek but the longer he seemed to stay with them, the more Prompto started to grow out of his little shell.

"Gladio, c'mon. Give him a break."

"No, Noct. We don't have time to jerk around, you know that." Noctis wasn't sure why Gladio was either so determined or so damn furious about this matter. He rolled his eyes by the comment of his Shield and shook his head, summoning his sword in his hands. Gladio turned back to Prompto and furrowed his brows. "Listen, kiddo. Each little scratch or sprain is a hindrance in this mission. You can't effort to get hurt out there or you're done for."

Prompto huffed under his breath, opening and closing his fists in a repeating motion.

"I'm not going to die from a little scratch."

That seemed to be enough for Gladio to snap as he stomped over to the smaller man, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and lifting him like fly. An almost inhuman noise escaped Prompto's throat and his hands found Gladio's bigger one, trying to break free out of his grasp. It was useless.

"But a little scratch makes you vulnerable enough to get too distracted to avoid a death blow." Gladio's voice was deep and threatening and deep inside Prompto knew the only thing the Shield wanted was to make sure Prom was able to take care of himself. Because out there, no one else might be able to. The tension in the room grew heavier and even Noctis didn't dare to step in, but he could already see how the first wave of anger rushed out of Gladio anyway. Noctis knew this behaviour all to well. His shield usually got pumped up fast but he also calmed down fast either.

With a heavy sigh Gladio put Prompto down on the ground and turned his back to him. "Just an advice for ya, kid: if you get hurt out there, make sure you'll kill yourself. And do it fast."

Prompto frowned by that thought before a shiver rushed down his spine in an awful way. Getting killed by the man in front of him had him on edge already, but the thought of killing himself... that's, that's just too much.

“Why?” He asked and his voice sounded weak, almost cracking, fiddling with his fingers until Gladio turned back to him.  
  
“Believe me. You don’t wanna die, bleeding like a slaughtered pig and waiting for it to end.”

Somehow Prompto couldn’t overlook the bitter tone in the Shield’s voice, not to mention he had the feeling he had seen Noctis flinch in the corner of his eye. The blonde was urged to ask what exactly happened but he bit it down. It was probably not the best moment to ask this now. Gladio didn’t give him any time to consider asking anyway as he ordered them to get back to training. Prompto had to learn how to defend himself on the battlefield at least. However, he still asked himself why they just couldn’t leave the city right now and try to get to Niflheim instead of fighting their way through the battles at the day of the treaty. Well, he had asked this anyway and got the answer from Ignis. Of course they could just leave now and hope to get there in one piece, but it was most likely Niflheim would notice their attempt to infiltrate the capital. They had to use the happenings in Insomnia to cover their plan and make sure the Empire was solely concentrating on something else.

It made sense to Prompto in the end, but it wasn’t making the whole situation any better.

Sometimes he caught himself observing Noctis and his movements. He had seen him fighting back at the day where he met him for the first time and a lot of times at this training now. Prompto knew what kind of magic he uses by now, knew what the blue glimmer in the air meant whenever the prince vanished for a short time before appearing at another point. It was the magic of the royal family; a warping ability. Must be useful in battle, Prompto had to admit.

He was distracted by the way Noctis is throwing his sword in Gladio’s direction and the big guy avoided his attack, rushing forward to attack Prompto in the process. The latter stumbled and failed to jump out of the way in the next move, the training sword hitting his arm and causing a stinging pain Shooting through his bones. Prompto tried his best to stay on his feet, but tripped as he tiptoed to the side and fell on his ass. His arm hurt like hell and was probably sprained as well now.  
  
“Not again…” Noctis groaned and rubbed his forehead. Gladio sighed heavily and got the gun, which had fallen from Prompto’s grasp in the action. Violet-blue eyes widened in panic and he raised both hands, more or less, in a way to defend himself.  
  
“No, no, no! Wait! It’s okay! I-I can still fight! Wait a second!” Prompto shook his head while looking up at the big guy and the clicking of the gun was so loud in his ears, it almost hurt. Gladio shook his head but before he was even able to shoot the younger man, a gloved hand settled on the gun and pushed it down.  
  
“He’s doing this for a while now. Give him a break, Gladio. It is not a serious injury. I take care of it.” Ignis said as he stepped in, his gaze resting on the slender figure crouching on the ground. Prompto was shivering and probably relieved he wasn’t getting shot immediately again. A heavy sigh escaped from his lips as soon as the Shield finally stepped back.  
  
“Fine with me.”  
  
That was at least something and slowly Prompto raised to his feet, his gaze moving across the room until he caught Noctis walking over to the wall on the side of the training room before he sat down there. Prompto followed him and took a seat next to him. It’s been a while now that he was training with them, so he didn’t feel too uncomfortable around the others anymore. Especially not around Noctis. He somehow noticed they had a lot of interest they were sharing. There was silence between them for a few moments until Noctis found his voice.  
  
“I’m sorry I dragged you into this, Prompto.” He said, taking a sip of the water bottle and setting it down again. First the blonde wasn’t really sure how to answer on that because, well, Noct wasn’t wrong. However there was nothing he could do anyway.  
  
“It’s okay, Noct. There is nothing we can do else so…” Prompto tried to shrug it off, but somehow it came out as weak as he felt. He could hear the prince sigh next to him when his head fell back against the wall with a ‘thud’.  
  
“No, I mean it. Dying over and over is no joke.”

Prompto snorted quietly, rubbing idly at the back of his neck while staring at his boots after throwing another look over to Ignis who was making his way over to them with a potion and a few bandages.  
  
“Well, you’re not the one who has to die over and over, Noct, so I guess you--” Prompto turned his gaze over to Noctis and caught the frown on the others face, brows furrowed and his pale lips pressed into a very thin line. The colour disappearing from them even more so they looked like white chalk. It hit Prom hard when he remembered, his eyes widened in panic. “Oh shit! I-I’m sorry! I forgot that you…” He tried to turn around to face Noctis properly but flinched by the searing pain in his arm. He totally had forgotten Noctis had had this ability before him, had to live through all of this stuff too. Through the killing over and over until he finally lost the ability. It must have been hard.  
  
Noctis dropped his gaze and bent his knees, pulling them closer to his own body and rested both of his arms on his knees.  
  
“It’s fine, Prompto.” He actually didn’t sound like it was ‘fine’ at all and Prompto worried that he had said something wrong, probably did for real. Wow, it was really rude to not consider that Noct might had had troubles with this too.  
  
Ignis settled down next to them and handed Prompto a potion, which the latter took in his hands and the little bottle shattered by minimal pressure. The shards dissolving into a blue-green fog which started to engulf his hand and sent a warm feeling through his body. It smelled nice, a bit like a mixture of herbs and water, a faint hint of mint was lingering in his nose for a while. The advisor didn’t say anything when he started to take care of the scratches, maybe because he didn’t want to interrupt Noctis’ and Prompto’s conversation, whilst the blonde was still feeling guilty.  
  
“How… how did you even get used to something like this? I mean… dying?” Prompto's voice had gotten quieter with each word until it was nothing more like a mere whisper, but Noct could still understand it nevertheless.

“You don’t.” Finally Noctis seemed to relax a bit more, moved his legs until they were lying stretched out on the floor. “It’s not natural to die and wake up again. At least I never got used to that.” That was not really reassuring Prompto had to admit but Noctis was only being honest with him, which was… fine. He idly turned the bottle in his hands, staring at an invisible spot between his and Prompto’s boots.

“I thought so.” Prompto answered quietly.  
  
“Yeah…. I think it’s not that awful, if you get killed by something else. Killing yourself is a whole different story.” Noctis worried his lip when he tried to find the right words. “I think I may… I might fucked this mission up from the very beginning.”

Ignis made a concerned sound next to Prompto, still focused on putting a bandage around the slender wrist but probably he wanted to express that Noctis had, in fact, not fucked up in any way. It didn’t really get through to the prince at all.  
  
“Why?”

“Because that one time… when I needed to end it myself, I hesitated. If I wouldn’t have, we may have gotten more time to fight, to decide on what to do. Still, I… faltered in my decision there.” Noctis stared at the ceiling and he sighed deeply. In the meanwhile Ignis had finished bandaging up Prom’s wrist and settled back onto his feet, adjusting his glasses when he stood up again. His bright eyes rested on the form of the prince.  
  
“It certainly wouldn't have changed much. It was not your fault, Noct.”  
  
Prom’s gaze wandered from Ignis over to Noctis and he could have sworn there was a faint spark of relief and gratitude in the bright blue eyes. Noctis took another deep breath and nodded.  
  
“Yeah…” Even if Noctis tried to sound convincing, his tone wasn’t really matching his confirmation and he drowned his cracking voice in another sip of water before setting down the bottle and getting up himself. “But whatever has happened before… we have a new chance now, right?” He turned around to Prompto and held his hand out, offering it for him to take and help him up. To be honest, Prompto wasn’t convinced at all that he would be able help them but he had no other choice anyway. He cleared his throat and took Noct’s hand to stand up.

“Well… still not sure, if I can help you out like you want me to but I will try.” He sighed and shrugged his shoulders and a smile spread on Ignis' face. At least it seemed like he was more or less acknowledging the blonde for not completely just quitting this job. Sadly the moment of peace and resting was over soon enough when Gladio approached them again.

“Alright, kids, slacked off enough. Back to training.”  
  
Noctis and Prompto groaned in unison at that and almost broke out into laughter about their similar reaction to this, which made the tension in the room a little bit lighter. Even the mood of people seemed to have lightened up a bit and Prompto did his best to keep up with the others. There was only limited time and they had to use it as best as they could. Even more because Prompto was not used to combat at all and fighting skills weren't something he had earned in his years of photography studies. He proved that for another time when he missed a strike from Gladio, receiving another blow to his already sprained wrist and making it more or less immobile.

He woke up a few minutes later; in his bed and disgruntled. _Again_. Prompto yanked the pillow free from under his head and smashed it into his face, trying to block out the unnerving sound of his alarm clock.

"Gods! I swear, the next time I see this damn big guy, I'll shoot him and shoot myself after that. Just for my own satisfaction after all this suffering." An involuntary sound of upset left his throat before he knocked the damn alarm off his nightstand.

 

* * *

 

The next days went over faster when Prompto actually liked, but with each day which passed he got better in aiming, moving and fighting. Good enough that he was now standing in front of the doors to the conference room for the peace treaty signing.

Today was the day and suddenly a wave of anxiety overcame him. Memories from the two times he had already been here were flooding his mind, making his knees wobbly in insecurity. What if they wouldn't be able to make it? Of course he had learned a lot in these last - repeating - days but still; this was a whole different story.

A sudden touch to his shoulder caused him to jerk his head around, meeting two bright blue eyes belonging to the Prince. Prompto could feel his muscles relax, now where he was already used to the presence of Noctis after all these days of intense training.

"Everything fine?" Noct tipped his head and looked at the blonde with concern in his gaze. It did take Prompto a few moments to collect himself again.

"Uh... y-yeah, I guess? As fine as I can be if we're about to go into a war." He whispered these words as quiet as he could, not entirely sure if someone would overhear their conversation. It was the truth, though. He had come to this meeting today with his usual equipment for taking the pictures, plus there was a gun stashed in a side pocket inside his camera bag. Ignis had let him in earlier so he wouldn't have to go through the security checks.

"I know. Just... just don't try to think about it too much. We'll figure it out when it happens."

Prompto was glad that his new friend tried to reassure him, even if it barely helped at all. He still tried to smile at him because he didn't want to worry Noct over it.

"Yeah, I'll do my best."

"I know you will. I’m going in, just… just keep an eye on what happened before.” Prompto nodded by Noct’s words because he was right, the last times he had fainted out of reasons he still didn’t know. His head usually had hurt so he guessed he got hit somehow from the tremors.    
  
His fingers closed more tightly around the strap of his camera bag resting on his shoulder as he watched Noctis walking off into the hall where he took his seat. Ignis and Gladio were supposed to be around in the entrance hall, close to the corridor to the conference room. Prompto couldn’t really give them an indication where the best place would be because he didn’t see them in his first two times being here.

He could only hope Ignis and Gladio would figure it out themselves and stay alive. Even more because Noctis' and Prompto would need any support they could get if it was about getting to Niflheim in one piece. The blonde was still thinking it would be better to try getting out of the city before the meeting happened but the risk of getting caught was too high. They needed the cover of the battle here in Insomnia, even if it was causing people to suffer. At least Regis would do his best he could do, to keep his people safe.

Prompto swallowed down the heavy lump in his throat and tried to focus on the task before him. There was no turning back now and as soon as he walked into the hall he could feel Noctis' gaze resting on him. There was a reassuring smile on the prince's lips, faint but it was still there and it eased Prompto's heart at least a bit.

As they didn't know how much Aldercapt and his people were involved in all of this, they needed to be careful. Niflheim shouldn't be warned too fast, who knew what they would come up with if they noticed Lucis found someone with the ability to reset time.

The meeting went like the other two times, both rulers quietly talking when they walked up to the wooden desk with the signing papers. This time Prompto had moved to the other side of the entrance, watching the scenery before him and maybe even hoping that all of this just had been a very weird nightmare and nothing would happen.

Reality wasn't doing him this favour.

A tremor shook the ground beneath them and he needed to support himself at the wall until he heard a first loud crash. The gaze of his violet-blue eyes immediately moved to the place next to him, where he stood the last two times and an involuntary noise left his throat. A statue of one of the gods had fallen to the ground, shattered into hundreds of marble pieces. _Well... that explains it.._ Now Prompto knew why he had a black out here after that. Though it was weird that he had been still alive after this... that was a massive statue and if it had hit his head, then... he should probably have died much earlier. However he had woken up in this room each time.

Unnoticed by him the events in front of him went on whilst he was still pressed close to the black marble wall in his back. His ears picked up the noises of fighting and the next moment he got pulled away from the entrance, just right in the moment when a dagger landed in the stone. Prompto was close to panicking again until his mind recognized the bright blue eyes of his friend.

"Noct..."

"We have to go." Noctis was already turning around and moving to the corridor but Prompto got a hold of his jacket and looked at him worried.

"But your... y-your dad.." He looked over to the fighting people, some of them already had fallen to the ground, slaughtered by the enemy. Regis was still holding up with some of the other council members. In the corner of his eye, Prompto could see Noctis tense and he was probably urged to help his father out, he opened and closed his hands rapidly.

"Prom, he sent us on this mission... we have to go, now!"

When Prompto didn't move the prince yanked for his hand and pulled him down the corridor, trying to block out the noises in the background of screams and clattering swords. They reached the main hall as another earthquake shook the ground beneath them and Prompto stumbled, relieved that Noctis was still holding onto his arm and supporting him, helping him up on his feet. "We have to find Gladio and Ignis."

As soon as Noct had suggested to search for his retainers they could hear voices coming closer. The prince squinted into the darkness and the sword appeared in his hand in a flash. The magic of the royal bloodline. Prompto had seen this now so many times in the last days... he was still amazed and fascinated by it. They both only relaxed when Gladio and Ignis got in sight.

Being reunited but also meant they had to find a way out of the battlefield now and try to reach Gralea, the capital of Niflheim. They were still hesitating, listening to the raging turmoil outside and the sounds of battle in the hallways.  
  
"What about his Majesty?" Ignis' gaze moved over to the direction of the conference room, the noises of fighting were barely audible in the main hall but still there.  
  
It didn't help at all Prompto could clearly see Noct struggling with his own decision. He was gritting his teeth and his hands were clenching into fists until he finally loosened up again.  
  
"He is buying us time." Of course neither his both retainers nor Noctis himself liked to leave them behind, but there was nothing they could do. They had to seize the moment as long as the Empire's forces were occupied.

They took one of the exits to the side of the building to avoid any unnecessary confrontations. Prompto had to swallow hard by the sight of the city. He absolutely noticed the difference between now and the other times, where he must have been knocked out for a good while. The deamon Niflheim released was still far away and stomping through Insomnia whilst the enemy airships were turning and heading for leaving the city.

Sadly their plan to stay unnoticed, didn't work out that well. Not far from the citadel they ran into another bunch of soldiers, looking more robotic like the ones Prompto had seen the last two times. The soldiers turned around in their direction and the blonde could feel the anxiety arise inside him again. He wasn't some kind of warrior, there was no way he would be able to make it through this.

Gladio clicked his tongue next to him.  
  
"Looks like we have to fight our way through." The big sword appeared in his hand, leaving Prompto still amazed how a human could even wield such a weapon. Even Noctis was struggling with them sometimes, although he tried his best to cover it.

"I'm not sure if I..." Before Prompto could even finish his sentence, he felt the reassuring pressure of a hand in his back and when he turned his gaze to the side, bright blue eyes looked at him encouraging.  
  
"It will be fine, Prompto. You're not alone here, remember?"  
  
"Yeah..."

His fingers tightened around the gun. He was used to it's weight by now but fighting for real was something totally different. However he tried his best when they made their way through the first wave of these magitek soldiers. Prompto remembered their name briefly from the few explanations of the Empire's forces Ignis had told him about. They were much scarier in real life and also a lot more deadlier. He barely managed to avoid a few of the attacks of one of the soldiers, which tried to chop him down with an axe.

Prompto's aim was surprisingly good, each shot definitely hit in the best way he could and he was proud of it. Somehow he didn't feel as useless as he thought he would be.

_It still didn't help anyway._

They took out the first soldiers and moved on, but the street was blocked through a toppled building. The next option at hand was an underground line tunnel, usually used to avoid the crowded streets and connected to an underground railway. The blonde didn't feel like this would be a good idea, still there was nothing they could do, so they had to try it out.

Not a good idea, indeed.

Not if Niflheim soldiers were already stationed there for an ambush. They weren't prepared for landing straight away in a crossfire of snipers.

The first ones shot down were Ignis and Gladio and Prompto already knew what this would mean. There was probably no way to get out of here without their help, even if Noct and himself were holding up as best as they could. Prompto managed to land a few shots himself, relieved and simultanously horrified when the - definitely more human - enemies fell to the ground. The scent of blood mingling with dust and smoke.

The more they both tried to concentrate on the battle the more they got separated from another and Prompto was pretty sure they were outnumbered here anyway.

Another blue flash dissolved in the air as Noct warped onto his next opponent, slashing him down with his sword before turning and their gazes met for a short moment. A little smile spread on Prompto’s face, because he was more than relieved that he had at least the prince at his side.

Noct was right. Prompto wasn’t alone and not weak either. There was a lot he could do, he thought and aimed for another soldier, shooting him down.

In the next moment, however, everything was over. Another tremor wrecked the earth and the ground beneath them, pillars dangerously shaking while tiles were falling off the walls and smoke soared between them, blocking their view for most of it. The lights in this tunnel weren’t as bright anyway.

There was more shooting and Prompto had to squint through the dimmed light to make out where the soldiers were, if he couldn’t make it out by the laser rifles they used. A searing hot pain shot through his body as something struck his arm, probably another blow from the Niflheim troops.  

A few more shots by Prompto’s gun and the noises quieted down, leaving them in complete silence.  
  
“Seems… we got everyone..” The blonde raised his arm in front of his face as he coughed and lowered his gun. However there was no answer from Noctis and the silence in the hall grew unsettling. “Noct?” He asked and looked around worried.  
  
The smoke and dust settled down and still there was no additional noise, no scrunching boots which walked over the rubble; no sign of someone moving at all. Uneasiness creeped upon Prompto when his legs started to move again. There was no feeling in them at all, just a motoric motion as he walked through lifeless bodies. He passed another pillar when black hair appeared in his sight and his heart stopped beating for a second before throbbing even harder in his chest. _Oh no...._

Just a few more steps and he reached Noctis, lying on the ground completely unmoving. His eyes were closed and Prompto wasn't sure if he was just unconscious or... no, he didn't want to think about that.

The evidence, though, was right in front of him. A hole burned right into the prince's chest and blood spreading on the cold, dirty tunnel floor. Prompto swallowed hard and reached out with trembling fingers.

 _Please, please don't tell me..._ he prayed to himself and almost withdrew his fingers again because his mind was already telling him the truth otherwise. He still had to do it. He needed some kind of confirmation even if all in his body was screaming about it. Denying the truth.

His fingers touched the skin right next to Noctis' throat, at the spot were usually a steady pulse throbbed, pumping the blood through the body but there was nothing. Just plain _silence_. No feel at all under his touch and an involuntary noise escaped the blonde's throat as he sank back on his heels.

Shaking, he tried to keep the building turmoil down in him. He should have seen this coming. They had trained for so many times and of course he should have expected that they may had to start from all over but seeing his new friend's dead face was something he could barely bear. Prompto really thought he would be prepared for it but he was definitely not.

His gaze moved to the gun he was still holding in his other hand, didn't even realize he still clutched to it like it was going to prevent him from anything else. Realization hit him when he remembered he wouldn't be able to go anywhere without them and because there was no one here left he only had two options. Either walking out of the tunnel and into the city which was probably burning down to ruins by now or to end it here himself to start all over.

He pressed his lips into a thin line and stared at the heavy weight of steel in his hand. Maybe it would be better to just end it himself... that would at least give him some control over it but fuck if this wasn't the hardest thing to do nevertheless.

It was nothing much to do. Just raising it and pulling the trigger but his fingers were trembling.

"You can do this, Prompto... you have to do it..." He told himself and tried to make this more reasonable for himself. He didn't want to let them down. He didn't want to let Luna down, who had done so much for him over these past years.

And.. he didn't want to let Noct down.

Noctis had done this too and it wouldn't be fair if he would just give up on this after all this hard work.

Prompto took another deep breath and raised the gun to his head... but as soon as he finally made it up with himself to pull the trigger, the ground started to shake again accompanied by a loud cracking sound. Violet-blue orbs looked up at the ceiling above him, just to see how the ceiling started to crumble and break through the quake.

Everything went black around him once again.

He woke up in his bed, still trembling and quietly relieved he hadn't been forced to really do it, but Prompto was sure the time would eventually come when there would be no other way. For now there was nothing else he could do, then just start from the beginning.

A deep and almost frustrated sigh escaped his lips as he rubbed his hands over his face. First to get his head clear enough to stand up and get ready but on the other hand also in the hope he could just push that image out of his mind. The image of Noctis; shot down by soldiers in the pooling blood.

_Oh dear... that would be a long and difficult journey..._

 

* * *

 

It was a thing of try and error, to be honest. They had to restart every so often and fight their way through the deamons. It wasn't easy. Most of all not for Prompto as he had to remember every way they had taken so far. Each little group of monsters, troopers or soldiers and the details of their fights to avoid another death blow and make their way through the battlefields of Insomnia.

Of course it was hard to keep every detail in mind. Even with his photographic skill of remembering, it was just _too much_.

Gladio pointed out to him over and over that he wasn't detailed enough with his descriptions to avoid being killed over and over and at some point Ignis finally decided to create a map for them. They could mark down the spots or the ways to avoid on that. The way of fighting, though, was something totally different.

It was hard for Prompto to recreate everything who was shooting when or when they needed to dodge something before getting smashed by Niflheim monsters in the midst of the Crown City.

His head already hurt. He still tried his best to keep it up.

Since there was something what he wanted to protect. Or better... _someone_. It was probably totally stupid to feel like this. To have this urge to protect someone, he didn't even know for a very long time.

However the short time Prompto has spent with Noctis has been enough for both of them to grow together. Maybe because the prince always needed someone who didn't treat him like fucking royalty but, in fact, like a normal person. Of course, Gladio and Ignis were his friends, well, and his retainers because they had been staying with him since his childhood. That didn't change the thing of reminding Noct that he was the heir of the throne and had to behave like that.

Prompto, though, was pretty sure he picked up more than one time how annoyed Noctis was by this sometimes. Even if he tried to conceal it. Probably the others noticed it too, but they never commented on it.

Nevertheless the prince - Prompto always thought he'd be so beyond reach - was nothing more than a twenty year old young man, obsessed over video games as much as the blonde was. They even liked the same games at some points which was... nice. It felt less awkward for Prompto then to talk to him.

Noctis even seemed to be quite amused about the fact that Prompto imagined him to be completely different. They laughed about that a lot.

Prompto never has had a lot of friends in his past, neither in school nor in his current situation. Except Luna, of course. It meant a lot to him that someone stayed with him because they liked him and not out of politeness. Another point on this list why Noctis was important to him.

Seeing him die over and over in front of his very own eyes was harder than he had expected. It was Noct who pulled him out of his thoughts again.

"Alright, lets... go through this for one last time today, okay?" Noctis ran his fingers through his dark bangs and they fell immediately back into his eyes; bright blue tired and bleary. This has been a long day of training. Ignis' marks for the enemies were still on the floor of the training hall, shaped into little or bigger crosses and circles to at least give a bit of difference to remember.

Prompto sighed deeply and put his hands on his back, leaning backwards to stretch himself and chase away that little aching in his muscles.

"Ugh yeah sure, dude." He waved him over and Noct walked over to him, looking around for the markings. The floor was full of them by now, it was ridiculous. Prompto wasn't sure at all how to make it through all the possibilities. "Where do you want to start?" He raised a hand, rubbing idly over the back of his neck.

Noct gave a hum and walked a few steps until he stopped at a certain point.

"Maybe after leaving the tunnel. I think I can remember the rest before that."

Prompto shrugged but nodded and padded over to his friend. He knelt down and tried to reconstruct everything which was in his head and what they had trained after all these hours in the last days. When he was sure to have each move in mind, he took a deep breath before breaking the silence.

"Alright, Gladio goes first, slashes down a trooper. Count to ten, slowly, then you run seven steps over to the other side of the street."

While he explained, Noct whispered the words to himself to remember it. They had gone through this so many times by now, he knew everything without help of Prompto to be honest. However it was nice for the prince to recall everything and having the blonde with him gave him the reassurance that he wasn't missing something out.

That was it.

 _Run a few steps, stop, turn around, slash two troopers, dodge and make a side roll to the left, count to six before getting up, swing the sword to the right to counter an attack of a deamon_... and the list went on. It was a damn choreography by now already and they had to memorize every single piece of it.

Prompto moved to his own expected actions to get through the attacks, mimicking how he was helping out the others when he was supposed to. He was much more used to combat and using his gun now, his moves more going on instinct than just overthinking. Noctis even watched Prompto doing a backflip on the spot as the prince had warped to a wall, hanging from his sword and counting to twenty-two. Noct almost forgot what to do when he landed on his feet. He has been captivated by it that much.

The unusual dance went on until they both bumped into each others backs accidentally. They both apologized at the same time and went into silence before breaking out into laughter. Probably not what was supposed to happen on the battlefield, but it eased the tension in the room.

"We really should look out for what the other is doing tomorrow." Prompto was still chuckling when he sat down at the side of the training hall.

"Yeah. I don't want to get shot by you, because you mistake me for a deamon." Noct said before taking a sip of his water bottle. When he set the bottle back down, there was a thoughtful expression on his face. Something was definitely bothering him, but before Prompto even got the chance to ask his friend already found his voice. “Thanks for keep coming along, Prompto. I appreciate it.”  
  
“Huh?” Prompto blinked a few times, caught off guard by these words. Not sure where this was coming from all of a sudden. “What do you mean?”

“That you still try to help us and get us through this… a lot of people would have probably already dropped out at this point.” Noctis sat down next to him and leaned back against the wall, his gaze was still resting on the violet-blue orbs.

The blonde had to fight the urge to argue back and he could totally understand why other people wouldn’t want to keep up with this. Not even Prompto himself was sure why he was still trying because whenever Noct’s face was in front of him, lifeless and cold, he wished again for a death where nothing would be reset. He didn’t answer on Noctis’ words until something else crossed his mind. He wasn’t sure if he should really ask, because he saw Noct’s reaction back at the training about being injured but he was curious.

“Hey, Noct… can.. can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what’s up?” Noctis didn’t even hesitate and Prompto unconsciously fiddled with the hem of his shirt.

“When you had this ability before… how.. did you know you lost it?” As soon as he could see Noctis worrying his lip caught up in his thoughts he regretted his question a little bit. “I mean… you don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to! It’s .. just.. uh…”

“You heard Gladio and you’ve seen my response to that, I guess.” Noct finished his sentence and Prompto struggled with holding back an involuntary noise. “It’s fine… I mean.. you will probably learn about the truth anyway.”

The way Noct rubbed the back of his neck was unsettling. Apparently what has happened, must have left deep scars on him. “I … told you before that the time frame which I was resetting constantly got smaller with each time, right?” Prompto nodded and a crease formed on his forehead whilst he listened to his friend. “Well.. the last time I used it in battle I got badly injured before that, but I didn’t die right away… I just.. bled out..” 

Oh. _Oh, so that was what Gladio was about back then_. Now his words made so much more sense to Prompto.

“However, after I died I reset the time but that time it was only for about ten minutes before my injury happened. I couldn't even avoid it happening anymore… I don’t know if it was because I didn’t die fast enough or if the effect of the ability was just leaving me… but after that, I knew I lost it; that I wouldn’t be able to use it anymore.”

Noctis bent his knees and pulled them closer to his body, resting his arms around them. What he didn’t tell Prompto, he was still wearing the traces of said incident on his body.

“I see… so that's why Gladio is so insistent about the whole ‘make sure you die fast’.”  
  
“Mhm… believe me, bleeding out and lying in your own pool of blood is not… pleasant at all. You have too much time to think it over… you know it’s the end and you probably just open your eyes and the time is reset to a certain point. But… what if not? What if you will close your eyes and it stays like this. Gladio is right… make sure it’s quick. It’s easier.” Noctis looked back at him and a weak smile grazed his features. Suddenly he looked so much more exhausted and tired to Prompto than he had before.

The memory of this incident was obviously still taking it's toll on Noctis.

Uncomfortable silence spread between them after that, both of them processing the said words in their own way - for Noct maybe even more than that.

It took a few minutes until Prompto decided to do something about it.

"Don't worry, Noct. I will... handle it. Hey, you... you wanna go through it again?" There was not much he would be able to offer, but at least he could try to distract Noctis. The prince seemed to consider it but shook his head in the end before he slowly rose to his feet.

"It's pretty late, Prompto... tomorrow is going to be hard. We should get some sleep."

"Yeah... you're probably right..."

Noctis was more than right with that, because each time Prompto had to repeat this it was getting harder for him.

"Don't worry too much over it... we'll get there. Good Night, Prompto." Noct waved him goodbye and turned around to leave the hall. Prompto stared at the doorframe for a while where the other had disappeared.

Sleeping was definitely the most reasonable thing to do, except that Prompto was rarely able to sleep the night before the attack anyway. There were too many images haunting him inside of his dreams.

Sometimes he felt more like dreams and reality was beginning to blur together.

He didn't know what was more unsettling.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thats it for now. Thank you for coming along and again for being patient. I hope that I can update once a month again but I'm not making any promises on that part. 
> 
> Also... I still don't like writing Ignis, because I'm not able to characterize him very well. I apologize xD. If you wanna scream with me about my AU's and anything about the boys you can find me on tumblr and twitter @ cinnamondazai
> 
> Inspirational Songs:  
> Rachie - ChiruChiru  
> Kuraiinu - Pathos  
> Nine Lashes - Never Back Down
> 
> Also if you're interested here is the full playlist I put together for the fic:  
> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXRINW5U4ldwuZHF7KIuMZyYnH1lSc5Vu


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